Alcoholism

As far as alcoholism as a social problem, there can not really be a date set as forth as it being recognized by society. The emergence of stereotypes of alcoholics has been around for a long time. However, in the mid twentieth century this stereotype changed. Before, an alcoholic was seen as someone without steady employment, unable to sustain family relationships, and having serious financial problems. Soon highly respected people start to emerge with this problem with alcohol. This stereotype was then disregarded. In 1935, two well respected men came forth with a program for recovering alcoholics. This program worked because of a philosophy that they had used their selves. They were a New York broker named William Griffith Wilson and an Ohio physician named Robert Holbrook Smith. These two men were very prominate in society and admitted they had a problem. This recovery program became known as Alcoholics Anonymous. In the 1970's another person came forth with their problem with alcohol. It was a first lady by the name of Betty Ford. She created a treatment center for substance abusers in Rancho Mirage, California. It is known as the Betty Ford Center. .
             When a person begins to need help dealing with a dependency on alcohol it has become a very serious problem. Alcoholism becomes a social problem when it produces serious personal, social, or health consequences. The abuse of alcohol is serious. Experts say that alcohol is a factor in 40% of all violent crimes. Alcohol disorders are a form of illness. They are a main factor that contributes to major health problems. These disorders account for 3.5% of total cases of disease worldwide. It also contributes to other forms of disease. People using alcohol may be more apt to have unsafe sex or use tobacco or some illicit drug. This may help the spread of other diseases. Research has shown that alcoholism causes more than $185 billion a year in lost productivity, illness, and premature death.