Throughout the years many different people have tried to prevent the use of alcohol. Doctors, religious leaders, governments, and even husbands and wives but with all their efforts combined, the levels of alcoholism in the home and workplace has risen drastically. Alcoholism affects more and more people each year. Some of it is learned behavior passed down through the previous generation, specifically from the parents, but not always.

One key way in preventing alcoholism is to stop the cycle within the family unit before it is passed down to another generation of children. With all the mysteries still surrounding alcoholism, this strategy is not an absolute guarantee that alcoholism won't rear its ugly head again. Sometimes alcoholism "skips" a generation. For instance, a child may grow up in an alcoholic home, growing to despise alcohol and all of its damaging traits, and never drink. This child grows into adulthood, marries and has children of their own. Later, their children grow and one of them becomes an alcoholic even though there was rarely any booze around them.

Another key in preventing alcoholism is education. Informing children of the dangers of underage drinking will help in increasing their chances of not becoming alcoholic. The longer a person can go, growing from child to adult without drinking, the better their chances. The seed of alcoholism is usually planted at an early age and if they start drinking, say, as an adolescent or teenager, their chances of becoming alcoholic increase. Not everyone who drinks as a teenager will become alcoholic. Though, there are cases where individuals became alcoholic even though they hadn't started drinking alcohol until their mid-twenties.

The absolute best way to prevent alcoholism and be guaranteed a person will not end up alcoholic is for them to remain totally and completely abstinent. An individual will have the greatest chance of never becoming alcoholic if they don't ever drink. But in this day and age, wishing for someone to never experiment with alcohol at all in their lifetime may be a fruitless endeavor. Somewhere, sometime, they will be offered alcohol. But unlike many other drugs, one drink of alcohol will not make a person an alcoholic. Usually what happens is the individual will enjoy the effects alcohol has on them and they will pursue it again and again until eventually dependency develops. How long it takes for dependency to accrue in the body is anybody's guess. A few months of hard drinking may cause dependence in one person where a few years of hard drinking in another will not.

If someone has a predisposition to becoming alcoholic, it is best to try and have them stop drinking as soon and as early as possible. But if their inclination is more toward alcoholic, they may already be on a path that only they will be able to get off of. Outside influence will have little effect on quelling their drinking. If you have tried everything under the sun to stop drinking but have been unsuccessful, help yourself by accepting outside help. The odds are against you of being successful by yourself. Why not increase the odds and your chances of getting sober and staying sober by admitting yourself to a treatment facility? You and everyone around you deserve it.