Clinically they say it is. But the real question is: is it caused by nature or nurture? The body will react to alcohol and will give a response when the stimulus is taken away (withdrawal). But are some people's predisposition for alcoholism caused by the nurturing they received or do they have a genetic deficiency that makes them more susceptible to their bodies craving the alcohol?

Why are some people mean drunks and others happy drunks? I wish I could find the study again (it was actually presented as part of an ethics in psychology course I took), but they gave alcoholics orange juice and told them they were drinking screwdrivers with vodka. A significant number of them fell off the wagon as a result, and even more of them actually acted drunk after consuming a large quantity of the juice. It was determined it was unethical to even tell an alcoholic you were giving him alcohol (even if you weren't).