Is a passion for alcohol inherited? The lamentable observation that the propensity to drink is passed on from one generation to another is not disputed even by those who in principle do not believe in genetics. Moreover, alcoholism perfectly fits the criteria by which it is usually tested whether or not a particular disease is hereditary. The relatives of alcoholics are four times more likely to become alcoholics than those who have no family history of this habit. Identical twins of an alcoholic are more likely to become drunk than identical or half-siblings. Adopted sober children of alcoholics are four times as likely to become addicted to alcohol as the average person. Taken together, all of this data indicates that the role of genes in the development of alcoholism is 40 to 60%