The American Society of Addiction Medicine has developed a new definition for alcoholism, noting that it is a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal and is characterized by continuous or periodic impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, denial, and other distortions in thinking. This definition also applies to addiction to other drugs. Addiction appears to result when an addicting drug combines with a vulnerable brain. The most common uses of drugs in addiction treatment are for detoxification, maintenance, antagonistic purposes, and symptomatic relief. Most addiction treatment programs include abstinence, 12-step programs, group therapy, education, family involvement, activities, and relapse prevention. The response to treatment appears to be inversely proportional to the damage done to the brain and the addict's social support system. Research has aided the understanding of addiction and the crucial elements of effective treatment. Discussion questions, note, sources of book catalogs, and 4 references