I think you need to be a subscriber to see the full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/07/weeki ... carey.html
Here are some quotes:
A government-financed study of alcoholism released last week, the largest to date, suggests how deeply [the] "moderate use" idea has taken hold. The study found that the treatment produced "good clinical outcomes" in about three-quarters of the almost 1,400 heavy, chronic drinkers in the study.
"The fact is that these moderate measures are becoming more and more accepted in judging treatments," said Dr. Edward Nunes, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University.
The very idea, common in abstinence-based programs, that one "slip" can lead to total loss of control may undermine their best efforts to self-regulate.
Though of course:By treating the habit as just that — a habit — and not a disease,
therapists may be able to make progress in reducing the bad
consequences, whether a broken marriage or an embarrassing car
accident.
On the other hand, the risk to addicts of this approach is incontestably real, and no one knows in advance who can and cannot safely moderate their addictive behavior.