酒精成癮（酒精中毒）包含四種症狀：
何謂酒精中毒或酒精成癮呢？
- 渴望：想要喝的強烈需求或衝動。
- 失控：一個人不論如何都一定要喝酒。
- 身體成癮：酗酒後停止喝酒，會出現像是噁心、盜汗、顫抖、焦慮等戒斷症狀。
嚴重上癮可能會導致威脅生命的戒斷症狀，包括抽搐，會在喝下最後一杯酒後8到12個小時開始發作。三到四天以後，會有震顫性譫妄，人會變得極端激動、顫抖、出現幻覺並且脫離現實。
- 耐受性：需要喝更多的酒來得到快感。
一位酗酒越來越嚴重的人總是說，如果他想隨時停止，但是他「從未想要」停止。酗酒是沒有終點的，而是通往墮落的漫漫長路，生活也不斷地惡化。
「當我開始戒酒，我才意識到酒精已經控制了我的身體，我戒不掉了。我會拼命抖、一直抖，我也會開始冒汗，我無法思考，除非我喝一杯。沒有酒我無法運作。
我在戒治中心和醫院渡過了8年的時間，試著找出我到底是怎麼了，為什麼我無法戒掉。這是我最糟和最長的惡夢。」 ──珍
參考資料
- “Facts About Alcohol,” U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
- “Alcohol and Underage Drinking,” School of Public Health at John Hopkins University
- “Results from the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings,” SAMHSA
- “2007 Traffic Safety Annual Assessment—Alcohol-Impaired Driving Fatalities,” National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, August 2008
- “Alcohol and Crime,” U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics
- “Alcohol-related assault: findings from the British Crime Survey,” UK Home Office Online Report
- “Statistics on Alcohol: England, 2007,” National Health Service (UK)
- “Alcohol in Europe: A Public Health Perspective,” Institute of Alcohol Studies (UK)
- “Alcohol Use Disorders: Alcohol Liver Diseases and Alcohol Dependency,” Warren Kaplan, Ph.D., JD, MPH, 7 Oct 2004
- “Alcohol and the Brain,” University of Washington
- U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General
- Encyclopedia Britannica
- “Alcohol Intoxification,” www.emedicinehealth.com
- “Alcohol Alert,” U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, April 2006
- Mothers Against Drunk Driving
- "Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet," Centers for Disease Control
