I am studying the history of opiates, and for a comparison, I am 
looking into the evolution of the theory of alcoholism. In particular I 
am interested in pinpointing  when the concept of physical addiction to 
alcohol (drinking too much and then becoming physically dependent) 
became the accepted norm in Britain and France. The main reason I want 
to do this is so I can have perspective on the idea of morphine 
addiction as it developed in the 1870's.

I know that in the 19th century, the term "alcoholism" generally 
referred not to compulsive drinking, but to the complications (brain 
lesions, DT, liver cirrhosis, etc) that came from drinking too much. 
The medical journals I have looked at are full of discussions of 
"inebriety" and less so of "dipsomania." The impression I have is that 
inebriety was considered more a problem of uncontrolled appetite, while 
dipsomania was a form of monomania where individuals had an 
irresistible compulsion to consume alcohol. Yet aside from a few side 
comments in some articles I've looked at in the journals of this era, 
(e.g. Frederic C. Coley, “Some Points in the Etiology of Inebriety” 
British Journal of Inebriety 2, 1 (July 1904):  Robert Jones, “The 
Relation of Inebriety to Mental Disease” British Journal of Inebriety 
2, 1 (July 1904)) I haven't found much discussion of alcohol abuse 
perpetuating dependence (the way we understand alcoholism today). 
Instead, the authors seem to focus on "poor heredity" and nervous 
disorders driving people to drink, as well as the overarching disorder 
of "narcomania" as described by Kerr.

I've also tried looking at some of the secondary literature, yet 
haven't found anything definitive on when/how compulsive drinking was 
definitively incorporated into the disease known as "alcoholism."

Does anyone have any suggestions of primary or secondary literature I 
can look at to get a more definitive grasp on this issue?

Many thanks-

Howard Padwa
Doctoral Candidate
UCLA Department of History