The definition of allergy is, "Any food, drink, or other substance which I put in my body which causes an abnormal reaction." The normal drinker drinks a couple of drinks in the evening and goes to bed because he gets drowsy - alcohol is a depressant. The abnormal drinker, the alcoholic, consumes alcohol and it produces the phenomena of craving. Alcohol for the alcoholic does not act like a depressant, but a stimulant. Dr. William Silkworth, in the 1930's, was the first American physician to identify alcoholism as an allergy, and, I concur, he is right.