Rabbi A J Twerski Writes:
"the aphorism “shikker vi a goy” (drunk as a gentile) is no longer valid, but I suspect that in earlier days, the opprobrium of shikker was so intense that it suppressed addictive use of alcohol. There were a few drunkards who were social outcasts. Alcoholism as we know it — i.e., functioning alcoholics — may have existed in greater numbers, but this too was concealed. Obviously the incidence of excessive drinking among Jews has increased. As recently as fifty years ago, country clubs did not take on Jewish weddings or bar mitzvahs, because they make their money on alcohol rather than on food. Today they actively solicit Jewish events."