The first step in treating alcoholism is "intervention" (Johnson 10). It is a technique developed in the early1960's by Vernon Johnson, an Episcopal priest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to force alcoholics in to seeking treatment before their bodies deteriorate to the fatal stage of the disease. Alcoholics deny that problems exist and their own belief that there is no way for them to get well, forces them to wait until they "bottom out" or reach their personal low. Vernon Johnson suggested that if alcoholics were made to "bottom out" before they reached the fatal stage; they would get the proper treatment before its too late. Some people wonder when drinking becomes a problem. For most adults, moderate alcohol use, no more than two drinks a day for men and one for women is relatively harmless. A "drink" consists of 1.5 ounces of spirits, 5 ounces of wine or 12 ounces of beer (Etiology). Moderate use, however, lies at one end of a continuum that moves through alcohol abuse to alcohol dependence. Alcohol abuse is a drinking pattern that results in consequences that are significant and recurrent. Alcoholics may fail to fulfill major school, work, or family obligations. They may have drinking-related legal problems, such as DUI's and they may have relationship problems related to their drinking. Through intervention, family, friends and co-workers confront the alcoholic with specific incidents of how his or her drinking has caused pain or danger. The confrontation breaks through the drinker's denial and forces him or her to seek treatment according to Johnson.

Alcoholism cannot be cured at this time. Even if an alcoholic hasn't been drinking for a long time, he or she can still suffer a relapse. To guard against a relapse, an alcoholic must continue to avoid all alcoholic beverages. Although it may be hard to "stay away" from alcohol, it is a key factor in treating this fatal disease.

A range of medications is used to treat alcoholism. Benzodiazepines (Valium, Librium) are sometimes used during the first days after a person stops drinking to help him or her safely withdraw from alcohol. These medications are not used beyond the first few days, however, because they may be highly addictive. Other medications help people remain sober. One medication used for this purpose is naltrexone (ReViatm). When combined with counseling naltrexone can reduce the craving for alcohol and help prevent a person from returning, or relapsing, to heavy drinking. Another medication, disulfiram (Antabusec), discourages drinking by making the person feel sick if he or she drinks alcohol.

Treatment and intervention are a few ways to help an alcoholic recover. The AMA is now finding prevention a effective method in reducing the number of people affected with alcoholism. The price increases on alcoholic beverages may be especially effective at reducing addictive consumption by younger, poorer, and less educated consumers, while information on the long-term health impacts of drinking may have a greater effect on addictive consumption by older, richer, and more educated consumers. School-based prevention programs that focus on social influences, such as peer resistance training or attempts to change perceived norms about alcohol, show more promise for changing alcohol use patterns than programs tha

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