I wish this thread would move away from trying to define alcoholism. I think it is something that each person needs to decide for themselves and that ultimately it ends up being much more of a gut feeling. It would be a shame to put out a strict definitions for what classifies one as an alcoholic and have someone actually be an alcoholic but not identify with those words and therefore think they are a-okay.
Also, I do not think there is a difference between someone who self-medicates with alcohol and an alcoholic. To me there are a lot of words describing a similar problem that has a similar solution.