augustthis article remains one of my favourite Weird Historical Addiction articles to date, and this excerpt a favourite among favourites. it just feels like it perfectly encapsulates a time and place in addiction research history.
two mechanisms by which physiological differences may facilitate 'alcoholism' are proposed, but the perception that this is an individual medical problem with a physiological explanation is so ingrained that these are the apparent limits of aetiological association. there's not even a cursory aside given to the idea that perhaps these are the effect, not cause, of heavy drinking.
From Jellinek (1960) - "Alcoholism, a genus and some of its species".