People have different degrees of alcohol problems.. I'm still don't consider people who can function to be alcoholics, because i think for some people the problem is so bad that they cant function at all-they lose their job, family, or what have you. Its seems not fair to put a person who abuses alcohol, even on long benders, in the same category as someone who drinks night and day and can exercise no control at all. But that's just me. Obviously, both groups suffer and addicts cross both groups as well.
My image of an alcoholic is different from others.. that's because there is no such thing as alcoholism. Addiction and dependence are broad enough to count all degrees of alcohol problems. The label "alcoholic" is not based on any kind of science at all.
The treatment industry has brainwashed us into thinking that alcoholism is a progressive incurable illness. Rehabs would go out of business if alcoholism was no longer considered a disease...or if they only catered to people in the acute stages of a problem.