"Drug use just doesn't meet that definition, since not using the drug in and of itself will not hurt you."
Stu, that isn't really true in all cases. Especially with opiates and certain other drugs, if a hardcore addict just quits cold turkey there is a real risk of death. That's why doctors tend to try to slowly reduce the doses when they have someone on heavy duty opiate type drugs for an extended period.
I wasn't talking about withdrawal, I was saying that people will not die if they don't drink alcohol in the first place. Nobody will ever die of an "alcohol imbalance" from never drinking. They may do so if they do not take insulin or depakote, or drugs that are necessary to treat medical conditions.
Yes, alcohol withdrawal can indeed be fatal cold tukey. Hoever, opiate withdrawal, while uncomfortable, is almost never fatal - even cold turkey. The exception is if there is an underlying medical condition such as heart disease, in which case any kind of stress could prove fatal.
That's why doctors tend to try to slowly reduce the doses when they have someone on heavy duty opiate type drugs for an extended period.
This is done for comfort, not safety. Cold turkey will not kill you, but may make you wish someone would. It is very unpleasant, but is not considered medicaly dangrous in otherwise healthy adults. Many a heroin addict has been stranded without their stash and has had to go cold turkey. This actually happens with regularity. A true alcoholic cannot do this without seizures and delerium tremors.
Again, if you have a heart condition or any other underlying disorder, EVERY drug should be withdrawn slowly, as rapid changes to the body can cause harm. This is not due to the particular drug, but other medical disorders.
Mdically, alcohol is the only recreatinal drugs that is lethal in withdrawl. (unless prescription sedatives are used for recreational purposes, in which case they also share this danger).
Cocaine, Meth, Ecstacy, Heroin, and certainly Marijuana withdrawal will almost never cause mortality.
Alcoholism is a disease of the mind and the body. It is genetic in origin and it is always fatal if left untreated. For someone to say that it is simply a matter of choice is to speak out of profound ignorance. If it was just a matter of will, AA would not exist. I have been in the recovery community for 14 years. I have experienced the tremendous effort of will required for an alcoholic to abstain from alcohol (or drugs, addiction is addiction) for even a short period both personally and in the observation of others. It is not a weakness moral or otherwise.
It manifests itself as a mental obsession that, even though experience has proven to the alcoholic hundreds of times that to partake is to invite disaster, this time will be different. This is an obsession common to all real alcoholics, there is no exception.
Once alcohol has been ingested, in any amount, the disease then manifests itself as an uncontrollable craving. That craving can only be quenched by more alcohol.
The body of an alcoholic metabolizes alcohol in a different manner than "normies." That is why an alcoholic in the heart of his addiction can consume amounts of alcohol that would kill a normal drinker. I have known people to drink a gallon a day of whiskey day after day. I myself used to drink so much that bartenders used to shake their heads in wonder. I had bartender give me nicknames like Mr. "T" because I would drink 9-12 Long Island iced teas and then get up and walk away without weaving or even appearing drunk.
The problem that people have in calling it a disease stems from the fact that the only long term treatment is a spiritual one, not a pill that comes in a bottle.