Alcoholism and Genetics: Is Your Parent Responsible for Your Drinking?
             Has heavy drinking affected your family? If it has, you are not alone. Almost half of
             all adults in the United States (43%) have been directly affected by alcoholism or have a
             parent, sibling, child or spouse affected by alcoholism. Over 76 million people in this
             country are directly or indirectly affected by alcoholism, according to the National Center
             Alcoholism, a pervasive public health problem whose cost is estimated at more than $150
             million annually, has a strong tendency to run in families. Although it is common throughout the
             general public, brothers or sisters of an alcoholic are at three to eight times greater risk of
             alcoholism than a person who has no family history of the condition. The identical twin of an
             alcoholic has about sixty percent chance of also becoming an alcoholic. However not everyone
             from a high-risk family develops alcoholism. "Even in high-density alcoholic families, not all
             children come out to be alcoholics," said Henri Begleiter, "thirty to forty percent of these kids
             will end up developing the disease"(qtd. in Okie 3). It is important we do genetic research on
             alcohol and genetics for three reasons. First, it leads to identification of people at risk, and could
             help inform people so they could act to avoid developing alcohol related problems. Secondly, it
             may help us to understand the environmental factors that play a part in developing alcoholism.
             Third, it may lead to new understanding and treatment that can help alcoholics to relieve their
             There is no definite cause of alcoholism; however, several factors may play a role in
             its development. The first is environment, and the second inherited factors.
             Researchers have found that environment does play an important role in the situation if
             the person does develop alcoholism or not. So...