Alcohol abuse | Addiction Treatment Strategies

Yes, alcoholism is a disease

Previous studies have found that health outcomes improve during an economic downturn. Job loss means less money available for potentially unhealthy behaviors such as excessive drinking, according to existing literature on employment and alcohol consumption. A new study by health economist Michael T. French from the University of Miami and his collaborators has concluded just the opposite–heavy drinking and alcohol abuse/dependence significantly increase as macroeconomic conditions deteriorate.
 
French and his team found that binge drinking increased with a rise in the state-level unemployment rate. Driving while intoxicated and…

The rate of alcohol abuse among soldiers has doubled in the past five years, says Dr. Les McFarling, Director of the Army Substance Abuse Program. McFarling attributes the rise to the stress of serving in wars, readjusting to life at home and then repeating the cycle, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. He says about 13,000 soldiers were treated for substance abuse in 2010—most of them for alcohol.
No direct link has been found between alcohol abuse and the number of a soldier’s deployments, according to McFarling. However, it is well known that soldiers use alcohol to deal with the stress of readjusting, or with post-traumatic stress…