• Alcoholic
• Alcoholic, Recovered
• Alcoholism
• Craving
• Delirium Tremens (DT's)
• Drinker, Heavy
• Drinker,Problem
• Drug
• Environmetal tobacco smoke
• Hallucinations
• Mainstream smoke
• Recovery
• Relapse
• Relapse Process
• Sidestream smoke
• Tolerance

DELIRIUM TREMENS (DTs);
Sometimes referred to as 'the horrors', are the most dramatic and dangerous expression of withdrawal. From Latin "Delirium Tremens" means "trembling delirium" or "shaking insanity" The DTs typically begin three to four days after the alcoholics last drink, when alcohol is completely eliminated from the blood stream and they usually last from three to seven painful days.Alcoholics who are severely malnourished and have been drinking heavily for prolonged periods are the mot common victims, but brain injuries and other traumas or medical complications can aggravate and trigger DTs in early and middle stage alcoholics.An alcoholic in DTs is mentally disoriented, hallucinating and unable to control movements of his body Some alcoholics experience violent and terrifying hallucinations, others become aggressive and dangerous, and still others may shake and sweat while concentrating a game of cards with a non-existent deck.

CRAVING;
A strong need or compulsion to drink, the overwhelming need for a drink. Like everything else in alcoholism, craving is progressive. During the early stages of the disease, craving is related to the benefits the alcoholic experiences from drinking -i.e. he wants to drink because it makes him feel good. But in the middle stages of the disease, craving becomes a need- the alcoholic needs to drink because his cells are physically dependent on alcohol.
In the deteriorative stages of the disease, the alcoholic drinks more directly for the purpose of relieving the physical and psychological distress of withdrawal. Craving has gradually evolved into an overpowering obsession - the alcoholic craves alcohol because it is the most effective remedy for the pain he feels when he stops drinking.
Early in the disease the alcoholic can usually control his craving for alcohol, but since there are so few penalties associated with drinking and so many benefits he feels no need for control. As tolerance increases and physical dependence sets in, the alcoholic gradually loses psychological control over his physiological need for alcohol.
Finally, will power, self-restraint, and the ability to say 'no' have no power over the alcoholic craving. The physical need for alcohol overshadows everything else in the alcoholic's life.

PHYSICAL DEPENDENCE;
The occurrence of withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, sweating, shakiness and anxiety, when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking. Drinking alcohol or taking another sedative drug usually relieves these symptoms.

TOLERANCE;
The need for increasing amounts of alcohol in order to get high. Every drinker has specific tolerance to alcohol. Below his tolerance level, the drinker can function more or less normally; but at levels above this he will act intoxicated.
Non-alcholics quickly establish a stable tolerance level that may be high or low. Alcoholics however, typically experience a dramatic climb in tolerance in the first stage of the disease and can often drink huge amounts of alcohol without showing obvious impairment of their ability to walk, talk, think and react. This ability to tolerate large amounts of alcohol can develop over a period of weeks or years depending on the individual.
Most alcoholics however experience a more immediate change in their tolerance level and are able to drink more than their friends and show less impairment soon after they first start drinking.
Thus the idea that alcoholics are responsible for their disease by drinking too much and making themselves tolerant to alcohol is erroneous. In fact the opposite is true, as tolerance is actually responsible for the alcoholics continued and increasingly large intake of alcohol.
In fact an increase in the amount and frequency of drinking is the typical symptom of a developing tolerance to alcohol and one of the first warning signs of alcoholism.

HALLUCINATIONS;
Like other symptoms of withdrawal, indicate a profound disorder in the central nervous system (CNS). They are usually terrifying for the alcoholic though not all hallucinations are frightening and horrible and sometimes the alcoholics are even aware that they are hallucinating.

RECOVERY;
A return to normal functioning based on total, continuos abstinence from alcohol and substitute drugs, corrective nutrition and an accurate understanding of the disease. The word 'cure' should not be used because it implies that the alcoholic can engage in normal drinking after his 'problem' has been corrected.

PROBLEM DRINKER;
A person who is not an alcoholic but whose alcohol use creates psychological and social problems for himself and others.

HEAVY DRINKER;
Anyone who drinks frequently or in large amounts. A heavy drinker may be a problem drinker, an alcoholic, or a normal drinker with a high tolerance for alcohol.

ALCOHOLISM;
A chronic, primary, hereditary disease which progresses from an early, physiological, susceptibility into an addiction characterized by tolerance changes (N.B. see also TOLERANCE), physiological dependence and loss of control over drinking. Psychological symptoms are secondary to the physiological disease and are not relevant to its onset.

ALCOHOLIC;
An alcoholic is a person with the disease of alcoholism, regardless of whether he is initially a heavy drinker, a problem drinker, or a light or moderate drinker. The alcoholics increasing problems and his heavier drinking stem from his addiction and should not be confused with problem drinking or heavy drinking in the non-alcoholic.

RECOVERED ALCOHOLIC;
The alcoholic who maintains continuos total abstinence from alcohol and substitute drugs and who has returned to a normal life style. The term "reformed alcoholic" implies that the alcoholic has been "bad" and is now being "good"-a reflection of the moralistic approach to alcoholism which has no basis in fact. The term "ex-alcoholic" should not be used either for it implies a cure rather than a recovery.

RELAPSE (SLIP IN AA LANGUAGE);
Any intake of alcohol or substitute drug by a recovering alcoholic. The taking of a substitute drug, although not usually considered a relapse, seriously interferes with a recovery and almost always leads to a return to drinking.

DRUG
A drug is any chemical which people put in their bodies to change the way they think or feel. The change caused by the drug will depend on the type of drug you use.

ENVIRONMENTAL TOBACCO SMOKE
Tobacco smoke that is diluted and stays within a common source of air

MAINSTREAM SMOKE
Smoke inhaled and then exhaled by a smoker

SIDESTREAM SMOKE
Smoke that comes from the burning end of a cigarette, pipe or cigar

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