Is alcoholism a genetic thing?

thank you.. because i have alot of alcoholics in my family..

Oh, lord. Both of my parents are heavy drinkers. My mother was a hordcore alchie for years and my dad just drinks a lot, but can hold is own. D:

i think its not. cuz a lot of kids do what their parents do. smokers grew up with smokers, drinkers grew up with drinkers. u know

*hardcore. !!!!!!!!!!!!

I seriously wish they’d teach genetics properly. Then again most teachers don’t seem to get it. My dad always said the half educated were always the dangerous ones. Genetics is only destiny in a small minority of cases. Other than that, the majority is a combination of genetics and the environment. Yes, addiction is believed to be partly hereditary. But just because you have several alcoholic family members does not mean you are going to become an alcoholic.

Its not always genetic however those with parents are more likly to fall to it

alcoholism is more with the environment than genetics. you do not have genes that say your going to be an alcoholic. you may have genes where you might enjoy alcohol more but it doesnt make you an alcoholic. alcoholism is mainly the environmentally influenced.

U should be fine just know ur a lot more likly to get addicted easily

I am an avid listener of Loveline - hosted by Dr. Drew who is a board certified addiction medicine specialist. He says that if one or both of your parents / grandparents are addicted (or alcoholic) there is at least a strong chance that you may have inherited that potential. NOTE the word is POTENTIAL. In order for the disease to ‘blossom’ you have to start down the path. It also means that if you smoke pot / start drinking / take a hit of just about anything you will probably REALLY like it. There is a biological reason for this, but all you have to know is stay away from it you can, and that you should be very careful if you do decide to drink. And if you should spiral into a full blown addiction, it will be something that you will have to contend with for life. So best not to start. However, if you were lucky, you did not inherit that genetic problem. Take care, and Good Luck!!

I agree

some people think that there is a gene for alchoholism but a study in mice showed that they preferred alcohol to tap water. since it isn’t in there nature to drink alcohol, this shows that it might not be inherited and just down to environment and addiction.