Alcoholism is a disease that includes four symptoms: craving (a strong need to drink), loss of control (not being able to stop), physical dependence (withdrawal symptoms), and tolerance (the need to drink more). A person can be considered an alcoholic when these symptoms occur. The craving that an alcoholic feels for alcohol can be as strong as the need for food or water. Like many other diseases, alcoholism is chronic, meaning that it lasts a person's lifetime.
             Alcohol is the most commonly used drug among the U.S.'s young people. Nearly 10 million people aged 12 to 20 reported drinking alcohol in the month prior to the 2000 survey. Of these people, almost 7 million (19 percent) were binge drinkers, and 2 million were heavy drinkers. The risk for developing alcoholism is influenced both by a person's genes and by his or her lifestyle. Children in most current lifestyles are beginning to drink at very young ages, sometimes before they finish elementary school. Many drinks specifically to get drunk. Although drinking is often considered a normal part of growing up, like starting to date and learning to drive, it is not. Alcohol use, in the teen years and not only, but may also lead to increased sexual activity, exposure to sexually transmitted disease, unplanned pregnancy, suicidal and violent behavior, criminal activity, injury, and death.
             In the early stages of alcohol addiction, there are usually a few signs of a problem. The alcoholic may act normally most of the time, but a few personality changes may be present, a lot of stress, and more conflicts with other family members. But family members also might protect the victim (calling in sick to work to cover for a hangover) or refuse to acknowledge destructive behavior. An alcoholic in a family influences the whole family, and he or she also affects most of the people around him.
             Alcohols affect us in many ways. A person under the influence of alcohol is much more violent, a...