Many ambiguities surround alcohol and the drinking of it. One of the most interesting ones is whether or not it is a drug of true addiction.
This brief introduction to alcohol related ambiguities leans heavily (if not solely) on the following statements made by Robert Kemp, T.D., M.D., F.R.C.P. (circa 1972) in ‘Drinking And Alcoholism’ (A Family Doctor booklet published by the British Medical Association):
1) Alcohol is “not a true drug of addiction as are morphia, heroin or cocaine.”
[Note: R. Kemp refers to morphia (morphine), heroin and cocaine as “hard drugs”.]
2) “Anyone who systematically takes any of these “hard” drugs will quickly become a true addict. The tissues develop a real craving with serious withdrawal symptoms if the drug is not forthcoming so that a drugless life is almost impossible and recovery rare.”
3) The drinker “can live perfectly normally without alcohol though naturally he misses its effects and prefers life with it to life without.”
4) Dependence on alcohol is “on an emotional basis rather than on a physical level. This means that those who drink excessively do not do so because their tissues are craving drink and they themselves have become physically dependent on this substance.”
5) “The fact that there is no true addiction makes treatment possible and recovery likely.”
I WONDER WHAT YOUR VIEWS ARE ON THE ABOVE STATEMENTS.
No doubt my failure to become addicted to alcohol was why I went through 72 hours of detox, including seizures, hallucinations, and a blood pressure spike that caused a minor stroke.
I don't know who the doctor is (and don't care enough to find out), but he's no addiction specialist and, if he says he is, he should be arrested for impersonating someone who knows what they're talking about.
That's what I think about it.