Objectives: Alcoholism is a chronic addiction to alcoholic beverages. It is manifested through a strong desire to drink, loss of control when drinking, symptoms of physical withdrawal and increased tolerance to alcohol. Alcohol addiction is a severe mental disorder because it leads to a pathological process, which changes the way the brain functions. Alcoholism in the long run causes a whole range of serious health problems such as cirrhosis of the liver, alcohol poisoning, heart disease, kidney disease as well as a whole range of mental disorders. There are numerous and indirect consequences of alcoholism in the form of traffic accidents and accidents at work. Frequent alcohol consumption is one of the important criminogenic factors resulting in an increased crime rate. Attitudes towards drinking are formed already in childhood and early adolescence, and very often according to the model of identification with loved ones. Alcoholism as such is a familial disease.