Most Americans readily accept that alcoholism is a disease and that the only treatment is abstinence. But in an eye-opening report, ABC News medical correspondent Nancy Snyderman questions the established beliefs and conventional theories about drinking, opening the door to a heated and even hostile debate within the medical and treatment communities. Metabolic, genetic, and neurochemical models of alcoholism are challenged, and alternatives to twelve-step...

In this program, famous adult children of alcoholics speak out about childhood nightmares and adult behavior that continues to reflect the problem of a parent's alcoholism: some chose alcoholic partners, others developed drug, gambling, or other addictions. All speak of the difficulties of coping with the damage inflicted by an alcohol-centered childhood.

Alcohol, the most widely used psychoactive drug in the United States, contributes to approximately 100,000 deaths annually-fatalities that could very likely be prevented through education and treatment. This program is designed to promote a deeper understanding of the drinking problem in America, particularly among students on college campuses. The immediate and long-term behavioral and physiological effects of alcohol consumption are discussed as...

We all by now that binge drinking can lead to deadly car accidents, but some of the other outcomes are just as horrific. From unintended pregnancies and STDs, to injuries due to violence, binge drinking impacts communities on many levels. A Production of the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

In the early days of the nation, men drink cider and beer all day long and at nearly every occasion, from barn-raisings and baptisms to funerals and public hangings. But as hard whiskey becomes increasingly affordable and saloons turn more and more drunks into the gutter, America seems to have become a nation of drunkards. Unable to vote, women in Ohio shut down taverns by praying on their doorsteps. In Kansas, Carrie Nation attacks hotel bars with...

Alcohol is pervasive in our society; its use is accepted and encouraged. Alcoholism, on the other hand, is a disease which must be recognized and treated. This program analyzes the signs of alcoholism and shows how a family member, coworker, or friend can help break the chain of alcoholism; demonstrates how one family dealt with the problem and discusses the impact of alcoholism on the children of alcoholics; and discusses the options and prognosis...

Blackout is a short fiction film that addresses underaged parties, drinking, sibling rivalry and peer pressure. The film was made collaboratively with students, inspired by their own experiences. This story is about a girl who looks up to her older brother and wants to be just like him. When their parents leave, the kids have some friends over, and the younger kids finds the older ones drinking. This young girl must make a decision whether to give...

The power of Drugs, from helping heal, to escape, to relax or hallucinate.

Poverty drugs, violence, abuse, family death….all of which “Billionaire PA” experienced as a child and young teenager. He became a great salesman. The only problem is he sold drugs on the street landing him in and out of jail. What else you can you do when you live in such poverty? His grandmother planted a thought in his head, “if you could use the focused energy you have in selling drugs and channel into something good, you will be unstoppable”....

In this episode of Whatever! The Science of Teens, host Steve Cannane meets three very different young Aussies who all have experienced binge-drinking to black out. It's a teen issue that has shaken a cocktail of concern. But is this just media hype? Through a range of experiments, we'll expose the true dangers behind what used to be seen as just a harmless rite of passage. The latest science on the effect alcohol has on teen brains is sobering stuff,...