As many of you on here know my son is an alcoholic - he has never been able to claim benifits because of his addiction, not that he's tried!
As for many of you saying it isn't a disease... when he was rushed into hospital following a seizure, that almost cost him his life, I was so angry with him that I was on the point of disowning him. A doctor came to talk to me and said if he'd had cancer people would feel sorry for him and he would be able to get help and, almost certainly, be cured. Because he's alcohol dependant he has to do it for himself. He's now on day 11 alcohol free. He's got a long way to go but please don't knock anyone without knowing the full story. My boy is lucky to have family support, a lot of folk don't have that.