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The drug, called Campral, may not work for people who are actively drinking when they start taking the pill or who are abusing other substances, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a statement.

There are only two types of alcoholics: (1) those who are drinking and (2) those in recovery. It appears to me that this pill would be worthless with #1 and not needed for #2. Wasted research money; or someone trying to justify his/her existence?

"There are only two types of alcoholics: (1) those who are drinking and (2) those in recovery."

I'd say there's a third type - those who are truly free from alcohol addiction. The type who does not accept one crutch for another. The type who no longer allows alcohol to be a defining power in any way, shape, or form in their life.

Personally, I think the whole concept of 'alcoholism is a disease' is misleading at best, and potentially one of the greatest swindles an alcholic can fall victim to.

Is heroin addiction a disease? I see no difference between the two. There is a state of physical addiction to a chemical. And yes, it is a progressive addiction. And I do believe there may be genetic factors that make some people more easily addicted, but that doesn't make it a disease in my mind.

The plain and simple fact is that if an alcoholic stops drinking and clears it from his system, from then on it is a matter of choice. Calling it a disease is giving a dry alcoholic a convenient out - and I've seen far too many take it. It provides the 'I can't help it - I have a disease' excuse. It removes personal responsibility and accountablility. In many ways, I see it as the same type of deception that keeps the poor dependent on the government; "It's ok, you can't help yourself".

I do not say these things with any self-righteousness or pride. I speak as one who destroyed 10 years of my life with alcohol addiction - an addiction that derailed the dreams of my youth and caused me to squander golden opportunities. I say them as one who still bears the consequences of choices I made while under its influence. I say them as one who knows that if I were to start drinking, it would be my own choice - not because I can't help it. I say them as one who knows the damage alcohol can do. But alcohol does not define who I am. I do not consume it, and I do not let thoughts of it consume me. It simply has no place in my life any longer, nor has it for twenty years.

I say these things as a free man.