Show Gives History Of 0 Alcoholism The word alcoholism was coined by a Swedish scientist in 1848 but the disease has been a topic of discussion throughout history according to Mrs Marty Mann founder of the National Council on Alcoholism in New York City Tracing the historical origins of alcoholism awareness she he said that U. U S. S President Thoi i- i as Jefferson expressed concern cen- cen cern tern about the illness and that as early as 1778 a University of Edinburgh medical student defined chronic cr continual drunkenness ss as a disease and postulated that the physicians physician's attitude is the determining factor inpatient in inpatient inpatient patient reha rehabilitation ONE OF the earliest efforts to control alcoholism was evidenced evidenced evidenced evi evi- evi- evi in China about 2500 BC B.C. when the emperor decreed that persons who sold or served served served ed alcohol be bEhead beheaded said Mrs Mann In the i. i t U. U S. S the first temperance temperance tem tem- perance society was organized in the early simply to persuade people to drink less but emphasis gradually shifted from the individual who drank too much to the liquid people drank THE ENTIRE nation became a battlefield in the fight between between between be be- tween the wets and the drys The casualties were the alcoholics alcoholics alcoholics al she added because in the drive to denounce al alcohol alcohol alcohol al- al cohol and alcoholism as bad death death-d death dialing aling etc alcoholics were also alao branded as no good and no decent person would have anything to do with them MRS MANN told the Salt Lake City audience that none of mankind's efforts to eliminate eliminate nate pate alcoholic bev beverages rages has succeeded succeeded- and a n d apparently mankind doesn't want this kind of effort to succeed possibly because the majority of people who use alcohol dont don't have ha a problem with it and dont don't want their enjoyment enjoyment enjoyment enjoy enjoy- ment curtailed because of the plight of a few Sh Shi stated tate U. U t of the 70 percent of adult Americans who drink 10 percent may be alcoholics I THINK theres there's only one common denominator for why people drink she said I They drink to feel better And the fact that this feeling is only temporary and transitory transitory transitory transi transi- tory is what makes people take more than one drink THE TilE MEANING you discover discover discover dis dis- dis- dis cover in alcohol when you first taste it is hard to de- de scribe-it's scribe sheer magic she says Mrs Mann said that for some years the number of alcoholics in America has been reported as 65 million but a recent Rutgers University study indicates in indicates indicates in- in there may be he as many manyas as 9 million alcoholics in the United States THESE PEOPLE mostly adults and both men and wo wo- wo- wo men are victims of a progressive progressive pro pro- progressive disease which has behavioral symptoms We have found that there is probably not one single cause of alcoholism but three physiological or biochemical psychological or mental and sociological or cultural Mrs 1 Mann said THERE HAS to be something something something some some- thing wrong in all of those areas before you get the proper prop prop- er fertile ground in which alcoholism l can develop The key to prevention and rehabilitation rehabilitation rehabilitation re re- re- re habilitation and research is in m public awareness and research concluded the veteran alcoholism alcoholism alcoholism alco alco- holism educator We have more research today than weve we've ever had but were we're still only scratching the surface SHE CALLED for a solid soli d core of concerned citizens t tc to o help eradicate public myths myth s and misconceptions about abou t alcoholism |