Alcoholism, and addiction overall, isn't a character flaw, or a weakness of self-control. It's a disease. And, if you are like most of us, you've probably been affected by it. Maybe you struggle with alcohol consumption yourself or have a friend or family member who does. I rarely talk with anyone who doesn't have a personal story about how addiction has affected their life.

About 14 million adults have an alcohol use disorder and there are about 95,000 alcohol-related deaths every year in this country.

Unfortunately, we don't think of it like any other medical illness, so we don't usually tal...