Originally Posted by
Alera 
It is a syndrome and syndromes are made up of different symptoms. You have to treat it very differently than a disease.
Do we know if alcoholism is a syndrome OR a disease? Medically, no we don't.
So what is Tourettes?
Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive, stereotyped, involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics.
What is a disorder?
disorder /dis·or·der/ (dis-orīder) a derangement or abnormality of function; a morbid physical or mental state.
disorder
noun
1. illness, disease, complaint, condition, sickness, ailment, affliction, malady, infirmity, indisposition a rare nerve disorder that can cause paralysis of the arms
SMART saying alcoholism isn't a disease is equivalent to The Bible saying the world is only 6000 years old or whatever, with about as much peer reviewed evidence I might add. Just because SMART says it's not a disease doesn't make it true.
How do Doctors treat Tourettes?
Pills
effective medications are available for those whose symptoms interfere with functioning. Neuroleptics are the most consistently useful medications for tic suppression; a number are available but some are more effective than others (for example, haloperidol and pimozide).
How do Doctors treat Diabetes?
shots
How do Doctors treat Depression?
Pills
Doctors seem to like to treat things with drugs whatever it is, however since we are using the medical community as our benchmark what do they classify alcoholism as?
The American Society of Addiction Medicine and the American Medical Association both maintain extensive policy regarding alcoholism. The American Psychiatric Association recognizes the existence of "alcoholism" as the equivalent of alcohol dependence. The American Hospital Association, the American Public Health Association, the National Association of Social Workers, and the American College of Physicians classify "alcoholism" as a disease.
In the US, the National Institutes of Health has a specific institute, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), concerned with the support and conduct of biomedical and behavioral research on the causes, consequences, treatment, and prevention of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. It funds approximately 90 percent of all such research in the United States. The official NIAAA position is that "alcoholism is a disease. The craving that an alcoholic feels for alcohol can be as strong as the need for food or water. An alcoholic will continue to drink despite serious family, health, or legal problems. Like many other diseases, alcoholism is chronic, meaning that it lasts a person's lifetime; it usually follows a predictable course; and it has symptoms. The risk for developing alcoholism is influenced both by a person's genes and by his or her lifestyle.
I use Occams razor with the disease model of alcoholism, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck......