Originally Posted by
chipd 
I don't know if it's a Canadian-ony thing but I do know that if you ever need to go on disability at work for whatever reason the insurer will want your medical records and you can get rejected if you had a "pre-existing condition" meaning you were sick before you were hired by your employer.
Life insurance applications typically ask if you've ever been treated for excessive drinking/alcohol problem or if a medical professional has ever told you to get your drinking under control or abstain.
Also there are some jobs that require you to undergo thorough physicals and background checks where the issue would be revealed. I'm not saying I'm looking for one of those jobs but just the prospect of being "blacklisted" scares me.
In Canada, every province considers addiction to be a medical condition, and those afflicted are accorded the same rights as anyone else who is ill. You cannot fire an employee for being an alcoholic or a drug addict; you're required by law to offer them treatment. This means that there's a legal definition of addiction, and that anyone presenting with that diagnosis is protected under the law as is anyone else with any other medical condition. Even if your insurance company were to have full access to your medical records, there is no way that they can designate your alcoholism as a pre-existing condition, unless you received documented treatment for it prior to joining your carrier.
That said, stigma around alcoholism and addictions is prevalent everywhere, including the medical profession. If you've been with your doctor for your "entire life," it's important that he/she knows what's going on with you. It's entirely possible that all you'll be doing is to confirm his/her suspicions.