Ridiculous!

[Nam]

This is patently false.

Evidence? Your opinion is not evidence.

-Nam

[Nam]

Me neither. The numbers are pretty huge.

I have had a hard time trying to articulate the idea that alcohol is a pleasure-recreational thing, while smoking has no redeeming value. It's simply a smelly, expensive addiction. Cigarettes are bad always. Alcohol is bad in excess.

Being "bad" doesn't equate to addictive.

-Nam

[Mermaid]

Evidence? Your opinion is not evidence.

-Nam

It is not my opinion. It's a fact. It sounds like your assertion is more opinion than fact.

As an aside, someone I know tried to dry out on his own and is now going to live in a nursing home for the rest of his life because of the severe brain damage he sustained as a result.

Here is one of many references (and associated citations) on the pathophysiology of addiction to alcohol.

http://www.zi-mannheim.de/fileadmin/user_upload/downloads/lehre/vorlesungen/20130710_Seminar_Suchttheorie_u_-modelle_Alcohol_book_proofs_chapter_10.pdf

A relevant excerpt:

Treatment of acute withdrawal
Sudden withdrawal from alcohol causes central and autonomous hyperexcitability with symptoms
ranging from dysphoria and sleep disturbance to severe vegetative disturbances, delirium, and con-
vulsions. In contrast to withdrawal from most other drugs, alcohol withdrawal is a life-threatening
condition that requires qualifi
ed treatment. Symptoms can be alleviated by reintroducing alcohol.
First-line clinical therapy is to use benzodiazepines or other GABA-mimetics with cross-tolerance
to alcohol and to taper these off
over a few days. Alternatively, antiglutamatergic compounds
such as the glutamate release inhibitor lamotrigine, or the glutamate receptor antagonists me-
mantine or topiramate can counter acute withdrawal symptoms in humans ( 57 ). Both the GABA-
mimetic and the antiglutamatergic strategy are well founded within the earlier discussed fi
ndings
on the cellular and synaptic actions of ethanol and resulting neuroadaptations that cause physical
dependence.
According to the DSM-IV, physical dependence is neither suffi
cient nor necessary for a diagnosis
of alcohol addiction. In fact, even aft
er extensive drinking periods some people do not experi-
ence withdrawal symptoms. More importantly, treatment of acute withdrawal seems to have no
eff
ect on the relapsing course of the disorder ( 58 ). On the other hand, animal studies suggest
that hyperglutamatergic states induced by acute ethanol withdrawal may provide the signal for
triggering long-term neuroplasticity underlying addictive behaviours ( 28 , 47 , 59 ). Also, humans
that have experienced multiple treatments for acute withdrawal show much greater impairment
in PFC function and addictive behaviours than patients in earlier stages of their addiction ( 48 ). If
a link between hyperglutamatergic states during acute withdrawal and subsequent relapse liability
could be established, this would provide renewed incentive for medication development in this
area ( 47 )

[Mermaid]

Being "bad" doesn't equate to addictive.

-Nam

Come on. Seriously? Have you never heard of DT's?

Where are you getting your information? 

[Nam]

I would like to specify in regards to me saying that "alcohol is nonaddictive". By that I mean: it doesn't have a compound in it, like cigarettes, that makes a person need another one about an hour after use. That means, any "addictive" quality of alcohol is solely psychological, and physical dependence comes after a long period of time in consumption not right after taking it within, say, a month.

-Nam

[Mermaid]

Okay? So you're saying it's addictive.

[Nam]

I know lots of occasional smokers. Cigars, hookahs, etc. An addictive drug is an addictive drug. Period.

Evidence isn't your strong suit, is it? You're like the conservative politician who's against gay people but says, "I have gay friends."

The only "addiction" of alcohol is psychological. The physical dependence (not addiction) comes after long term abusal use.

There are no statistics on alcohol addiction because it is nonexistent. There are statistics that relate to the abuse of alcohol but abuse does not equate to addiction.

-Nam

[Nam]

Okay? So you're saying it's addictive.

No.

-Nam

[Jmpty]

People don't die from withdrawal to psychologically addictive substances. Are you really as obtuse as you appear, or just trolling for lulz?

[Jmpty]

http://www.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/alcoholism/risk-factors.html

[Nam]

People don't die from withdrawal to psychologically addictive substances. Are you really as obtuse as you appear, or just trolling for lulz?

There are many ways to die from alcohol none of which means those who died from it were dependent, "addicted", or otherwise.

Alcohol is not addictive. There is no compound in alcohol that makes a person crave it. If a person craves it it's entirely psychological from ABUSING the use of it.

Let's say I quit smoking. I don't smoke for 6 months. I am no longer physically craving a cigarette but psychologically I am and I start again. Then immediately my body begins to crave the nicotine. I have a psychological and physical addiction to cigarettes.

I got the physical addiction a month (+/-) after first inhaling. A person doesn't get such a craving with alcohol because it doesn't have a particular compound in it that makes you physically crave it, and it's only after abusing it over a long period of time does one create a psychological dependency on it that some refer to as "addiction" (though medically it's recommended to refer it independently as a "dependence" and not an "addiction").

Therefore, alcohol is nonaddictive.

-Nam

[Nam]

http://www.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/alcoholism/risk-factors.html

U.S. National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

That entire article doesn't say anything about alcohol being addictive. It's says what I am saying.

-Nam

[Jmpty]

Alcohol is in a class of drugs called sedative-hypnotics. Sedative hypnotics are highly addictive. Your smoking analogy is a good one, except that it is EXACTLY the same mechanism in someone ADDICTED to alcohol. I'd say ask the AMA, But you're obviously smarter than them.

[Jmpty]

There are many ways to die from alcohol none of which means those who died from it were dependent, "addicted", or otherwise.

Alcohol is not addictive. There is no compound in alcohol that makes a person crave it. If a person craves it it's entirely psychological from ABUSING the use of it.

Let's say I quit smoking. I don't smoke for 6 months. I am no longer physically craving a cigarette but psychologically I am and I start again. Then immediately my body begins to crave the nicotine. I have a psychological and physical addiction to cigarettes.

I got the physical addiction a month (+/-) after first inhaling. A person doesn't get such a craving with alcohol because it doesn't have a particular compound in it that makes you physically crave it, and it's only after abusing it over a long period of time does one create a psychological dependency on it that some refer to as "addiction" (though medically it's recommended to refer it independently as a "dependence" and not an "addiction").

Therefore, alcohol is nonaddictive.

-Nam

Source?

[Jmpty]

That entire article doesn't say anything about alcohol being addictive. It's says what I am saying.

-Nam

What does the word alcoholism mean?