Originally Posted by
JeffreyAK 
Symptom of what, character defects or something?
When someone persists in drinking when they know that it makes them a menace to everyone they encounter; when it diverts family resources; when it leads to violence and incapacitation; when it robs spouses of companionship and employers of a fair deal:
It is immoral, a character defect, the ultimate selfish self indulgence.
But it can be fixed instantly with permanent abstinence.
Ascribing chronic drunkeness to illness rationalizes the act and removes the responsibility for the destructive behavior from the drunk, which is precisely where it belongs.