Its definitely not a disease. If its a disease, then why can it not manifest itself in the body and be treated as such, say, like, diabetes or any other ailment/disease/illness. Its all in the mind. Alcohol is an extremely addictive drug and for some, not all, when taken can then cause addiction. Alcohol is the all time favourite drug, it oils the social system, we are brought up to believe that one cannot have any form of social function whatsoever without the use of alcohol, people who don't drink alcohol are considered odd, either "you poor thing, do you have a drink problem?" or religeous. This is all perpetuated by the Government and the alcohol manufacturers. AA would suggest if you can't control your drinking there is something wrong with the person who is inherently "diseased", they don't look at it that we are dealing with a highly addictive drug and poison which, if taken enough of will cause diseases and eventually kill us.