Differences between "European" and "American" classification of alcohol related diseases have been described. From epidemiological aspect, drinking patterns have a very important role in development of alcohol related diseases. Besides the family of the alcoholic, which is first to feel consequences, the whole society will have general damage which also reflects in the economical deficit of the state. In this paper we had opportunity to see many disponitive causes of alcoholism. First one being heredity- it is obvious that vulnerability to alcoholism is poligenetically inherited. Furthermore strong influence of environment on man was demonstrated. The way of influence can be through modeling, societies permissive to alcohol abuse etc. Some behavioristic theoreticians have rightly pointed out that so called "alcohol expectancy effect" is to be traced to a certain measure to operant conditioning- because of this some of them should be relegated to instrumental causes of alcoholism. On concrete example it was pointed out that because of cognition, man can comprehend abstract notions which can be universally applied. From neurobiological aspect, the importance of ethanol was shown in influence on modifying neurological pathways through dopamine which is instrumental in craving for psychoactive substances. It was pointed out that psychological causes are principal ones and that there is no reason that they should be in contradiction with above named disponitive and instrumental causes.