Warner J
Alcohol Research Group, Berkeley, California 94709-2176.
J Stud Alcohol. 1994 Nov;55(6):685-91. doi: 10.15288/jsa.1994.55.685.
The notion that alcohol is potentially addictive dates not from the late eighteenth century but from the early seventeenth century at the very least, as does the related notion that habitual drunkenness constitutes a "disease" in its own right. English pamphlets and sermons from the latter period would suggest that the two notions were first advanced by clergymen and other moralists, and only later found acceptance in the British and American medical communities. Seen in this light, the American physician Benjamin Rush (c. 1745-1813) was less an innovator in advancing the notion of addiction than the last great voice in a tradition already 150 years old.
酒精具有潜在成瘾性这一观念至少可追溯到17世纪早期，而非18世纪晚期，习惯性醉酒本身构成一种“疾病”这一相关观念亦是如此。后期的英国宣传册和布道文表明，这两种观念最初是由神职人员和其他道德家提出的，后来才在英美医学界得到认可。从这个角度来看，美国医生本杰明·拉什（约1745 - 1813年）在提出成瘾观念方面与其说是创新者，不如说是一个已有150年历史传统中的最后一位伟大倡导者。
