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Alcoholism.

Alcoholism: Genetics or Environment
Alcoholism, by definition, is a chronic disorder characterized by dependence on alcohol, repeated excessive use of alcoholic beverages, the development of withdrawal symptoms on reducing or ceasing intake, morbidity that may include cirrhosis of the liver, and decreased ability to function socially and vocationally. Alcoholism. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved December 16, 2007, Although alcoholics seem to be nasty, disturbing, and evil people, they are no more than a regular, loving person that has been consumed by the disease of alcoholism. These people are in need of our help and loving support, and not our criticism and hatred.
Alcohol, although loved by many, is becoming a growing problem in the United States. Alcoholism has done, and is doing, physical damage to a vast amount of the population, not to mention the psychological and emotional affects alcoholism and alcoholics have on the people that they interact with. To prove my point, here are some staggering statistics taken from the U.S. population. Seventy-six million people, about forty-three percent of adults, have been exposed to alcoholism in the family. An estimated six and a half million children under the age of eighteen live in households with at least one alcoholic parent. Currently nearly fourteen million Americans, one in every thirteen adults, abuse alcohol or are an alcoholic. One half of all traffic fatalities, and one-third of all traffic injuries, are related to abuse of alcohol. It is estimated that over three million teens, between the ages of fourteen and seventeen, in the United States today are alcoholics. Sixty-two percent of high school seniors report that they have been drunk. Thirty-one percent say they have had five or more drinks in a row during the last two weeks. Youth who begin drinking before they turn fifteen are twice as likely to develop an alcohol abuse problem, and four times more likely to develop alcohol...