I absolutely reject that addiction is a disease and want to point out that so does most everyone not in AA as far as I have seen. It does matter how the donkey got in the ditch, I think the donkey needs to know that they got themselves in there, and not that a "disease" got them there. Here's an article by Dr. Stanton Peele (who helped write the DSMV section on alcoholism): Stanton Peele: AA is Ruining the World

Cult or not, the reality is AA members are told at every meeting they are suffering from a disease, and not just a disease, a progressive incurable disease that they have no control over. You will be told daily you have no self control over substances. That only a higher power can remove your cravings. When you get sober it is not personal empowerment at work, you will be told it's the work of God. Then you'll be reminded again, if you go back out and drink you will not be able to control yourself at all, and you will quickly drink to your death. You'll be strongly discouraged from reading anything that says otherwise, saying anything to the contrary, i.e. if you don't buy in that you are completely powerless over booze and drugs you cant even do step one of the program.

The reality is addiction is a thing, but complete lack of will power and self control is a lie. It's a lie that medicine doesn't believe in, that psychiatry doesn't believe in... that basically no one except for AA members believe in. And if you got to AA they won't tell you that, they will pretend like this is accepted fact. I just happen to believe it can be damaging to tell a person they have no self control repeatedly. Thoughts are powerful. As this article shows, addiction and alcoholism can and does resolve on its own. I believe that addiction in most prevalent in people who are depressed, and people try to avoid their woes by escaping into a lot of things, drugs and alcohol being a very obvious thing to turn to for escape.