The cause of alcoholism is unknown. It may be present from birth. If women drink while they are pregnant, their infants can be born with fetal alcohol syndrome, a serious condition that affects the development of their brains and may cause serious illness. Some studies have tried to prove that alcoholism is hereditary, and that people are genetically prone to be addicts of some sort and the most common addiction is alcoholism.

Advertising is also blamed partly for the prevalence of alcoholism in our society. Advertisements on TV, radio and in

newspapers and magazines contribute to teen alcohol abuse and alcoholism. Alcoholic coolers are also displayed in grocery stores next to fruit drinks, suggesting to teenagers that drinking them is as harmless as drinking fruit juices. Research has shown that by the time teenagers reach driving age they will have seen 75,000 ads for alcohol products. Fifty-six percent of students in grades 5 through 12 say that alcohol advertising encourages them to drink. In the year 2000, the beer industry spent almost $800 million on advertising. These facts and statistics seem to show that being bombarded by alcohol advertising may have an effect on the amount of alcoholism in our society.

One reason treatment for alcoholism is so difficult is the factor of denial. It takes on average of ten years for a habitual drinker to turn into an alcoholic. Many people deny that their drinking is a problem and refuse to seek help. Also many suffer fro alcoholic blackouts and do not remember the negative consequences of their drinking. What’s more, alcohol impairs judgment and reason in all users, making them less likely to associate any problem with their drinking. It is often the families and friends of the alcohol that suffer most and make the per

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