Oh pur-leez! OK, so you are holding down a full time job. OK, so you don’t need a drink in the morning before work. OK, you’re not a funky bum in the local park scaring the kids with your wild eyes and frowzy beard. However, if you feel you have to drink every day does that not constitute alcoholism? Or am I talking out of my didgeridoo?
Well, does the person drink every day or do they HAVE to drink every day? I mean, I usually have a glass of wine with dinner, but I don’t have to and I’m certainly not an alcoholic.
Does the person in question drink every day or do they feel they have to drink every day? Two different issues, IMHO.
On Preview: Or, what she said.
I’ll vote didgeridoo.
And how much do they drink? Half a glass of wine is quite a different story than a 6-pack and a quart of vodka.
Need more information.
For example, if someone had 1 glass of wine or just 1 serving of beer every night with dinner I wouldn’t call that alcoholic. If they downed a pint of whiskey every night I’d say they have a drinking problem. In the former case the amount is not excessive and indeed all effects would be gone within and hour or two at most. In the latter case, that’s a lot of alcohol to consume in one sitting, and to do that every day.
Half of London has a lot of explaining to do…
Well… I can sometimes smell alcohol on his breath in the morning. He’s said to me that he has a “few” beers in the evening, seems quite proud of the fact. I guess I’m asking where you draw the line between being an occasional drinker to an alcaholic. So, c’,mon dopers, whats the deal?
I think it depends how much.
A glass of wine? No.
A bottle of wine? Maybe.
35cl of whiskey and five beers (european strength) Yes.
Does he drink enough to pass out?
Does his breath smell of alcohol after he’s brushed his teeth?
How lucid does he seem in the morning?
I’ve gone a few weeks where I drink everyday. Not “shit-faced” drinking, just a coctail or two in the evening. Then when I run out of booze or beer, whatever. I don’t have a drink. It’s not like I sit there and find excuses for me to go out and buy more booze. If I’ve got it, I’ll drink it, if not, no big deal.
Unless he’s polishing off a couple of drinks a couple of hours before he wakes up, I’d say it sounds like his problem isn’t drinking, it’s dental hygiene.
Does he drink enough to pass out? Pass out? Don’t know. I do know he used to suffer from panic attacks. Alcohol related? IANAD so couldn’t guess.
Does his breath smell of alcohol after he’s brushed his teeth? Yess
How lucid does he seem in the morning? Lucid, yes. But often the eyes are glazed over.
FTR, he has in the past been suspended from duty in the past, because the HR manager smelled alcohol on his breath. All charges were dropped eventually.
Alcoholics are addicted to alcohol. Just drinking a lot doesn’t make you an alcoholic. If this person didn’t have any money or access to drink would it be a problem for them or just a pain in the ass coz they would like a drink? If it’s a problem well then they have one.
The line is: Has the drinking affected your work or social life negatively, eg: missing work, being late, blowing off a social engagement to drink, etc.
I drink a lot because I enjoy the varied tastes of many different alcoholic beverages, including craft beers, wine, and whiskeys. Much as I enjoy the differeng tastes of different breads, cheeses, and other more exciting foods. My current partner shares this interest, and yes, on a weekend we might sometimes get past “enjoying” and into “drunk” territory.
But because it doesn’t affect our work at all, and because on occasion we can stop drinking entirely for a period of time (eg, athletic training), then no, we’re not alcoholics.
I think many people can drink every day without being alcoholics. My father has a large beer every evening, but he can easily survive a day without it. I also worked with a girl who drank every day - a LOT - and insisted that she just liked it. I accepted that it was cultural, as she was Russian, but then she came to work one day and said she had a terrible headache because she hadn’t drunk the night before. She got a beer at lunch, and felt much better. We all told her that that was a sign of alcoholism, but she insisted that it was fine, and that “beer is full of vitamin B.” That would be an example of a person deluding herself.
This doesn’t make him an alcoholic.
having a hangover doesn’t make him an alcoholic.
This doesn’t make him an alcoholic.
This guy may very well be an alcoholic and it seems he almost certainly drinks too much but if everyone that had a smell of drink on them got into trouble in work there would be about 10 people working here in Ireland.
Apart from the last bit which may indicate that there person does actually NEED to drink the rest just means that a person is hungover after drinking too much. Drinking too much doesn’t indicate alcoholism, it just shows that the person drank too much which is something you can easily do once you’ve started and got a few drinks into you.
Now that’s a candidate for being a alcoholic.
I’ll stop posting now 
Summarized from the DSM-IV TR:
If the person meets any 1 of the following criteria in a 12 month period the problem is substance abuse:
- Failing to meet obligations for work, school, or home
- Use in situations in which it is dangerous
- Repeated legal problems (e.g., disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, public intoxication, etc.) due to substance use.
- Continued use despite social or interpersonal problems due to substance use.
If the person meets any 3 of the following criteria in a 12 month period then the problem is substance dependence (addiction):
- Tolerance-the need for more of the substance to acheive the desired effect or feeling less of the effect when using the same amount.
- Withdrawal as manifested by the withdrawal syndrome for that substance
- Used in larger amounts or longer periods than intended
- Multiple failed attempts at maintaining significant periods of abstinence
- Spending a great deal of time obtaining, using, or getting over the effects of the substance
- Important social, occupation, or recreational activities are given up or reduced because the substance use.
- Use despite knowing is causing or making worse physical or pyschological problems.
Here’sthe link to a site for the criteria.
Hope this helps you. I am a certified drug and alcohol counselor.