Heavy drinking: the myth of alcoholism as a disease

Fingarette aims to refute evidence that alcoholism is disease. Rejecting the terms alcoholic and disease, he points out that many drinkers do not experience craving and/or loss of control, can engage in controlled drinking, and have spontaneous recovery. He also notes the variable success rates of medical treatment programs. Ultimately, Fingarette states that heavy drinking is dependent upon host of situational factors. The heavy drinker is not a passive patient who will be treated by an expert . but an individual capable of exercising control and assuming responsibility. The weakness here is that alcoholism and heavy drinking are in fact different entities; in discussing alcoholism there is room for both disease and situational model.