--- title: "3 Alcoholics Quotes By Lance Dodes" description: "3 Alcoholics quotes by Lance Dodes. Plus more from Lance Dodes and more Alcoholics sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c3/lance-dodes-29597_12-step-program_aa-makes-inflated-claims-about-itself-it_248061.jpg" --- > [“AA makes inflated claims about itself. Its foundational document, Alcoholics Anonymous (commonly referred to as the “Big Book” and a perennial best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/aa-makes-inflated-claims-about-itself-its-foundational-document/) [Lance Dodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-dodes/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c3/lance-dodes-29597_12-step-program_aa-makes-inflated-claims-about-itself-it_248061.jpg) > [“Alcoholics Anonymous was proclaimed the correct treatment for alcoholism over seventy-five years ago despite the absence of any scientific evidence of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/alcoholics-anonymous-was-proclaimed-the-correct-treatment-for/) [Lance Dodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-dodes/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/741/lance-dodes-29597_12-step-program_alcoholics-anonymous-was-proclaimed-the_1223566.jpg) > [“AA has managed to survive, in part, because members who become and remain sober speak and write about it regularly. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/aa-has-managed-to-survive-in-part-because-members-who-become-and/) [Lance Dodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-dodes/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/235/lance-dodes-29597_12-step-program_aa-has-managed-to-survive-in-part-becaus_1459458.jpg) ## Other authors on Alcoholics - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b017/author-mercedes-mccambridge-66655.jpg) Mercedes McCambridge 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholics/mercedes-mccambridge/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b019/author-ozzy-osbourne-73020.jpg) Ozzy Osbourne 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholics/ozzy-osbourne/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b010/author-george-carlin-37578.jpg) George Carlin 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholics/george-carlin/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b006/author-chelsea-handler-22948.jpg) Chelsea Handler 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholics/chelsea-handler/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b004/author-augusten-burroughs-15660.jpg) Augusten Burroughs 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholics/augusten-burroughs/) ## More by Lance Dodes > [“Addiction is not a moral defect, and to suggest that does a great disservice to people suffering with this disorder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/addiction-is-not-a-moral-defect-and-to-suggest-that-does-a-great/) [Lance Dodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-dodes/) > [“AA makes inflated claims about itself. Its foundational document, Alcoholics Anonymous (commonly referred to as the “Big Book” and a perennial best seller), spells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/aa-makes-inflated-claims-about-itself-its-foundational-document/) [Lance Dodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-dodes/) > [“I have met and listened to a very large number of people who have “failed” at AA and some who continue to swear by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/i-have-met-and-listened-to-a-very-large-number-of-people-who-have/) [Lance Dodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-dodes/) > [“The degradation woven through these steps also seems unwittingly designed to exacerbate, rather than relieve, the humiliating feelings so common in addiction. If moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/the-degradation-woven-through-these-steps-also-seems-unwittingly/) [Lance Dodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-dodes/) > [“Alcoholics Anonymous was proclaimed the correct treatment for alcoholism over seventy-five years ago despite the absence of any scientific evidence of the approach’s efficacy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/alcoholics-anonymous-was-proclaimed-the-correct-treatment-for/) [Lance Dodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-dodes/) > [“Every year, our state and federal governments spend over $15 billion on substance-abuse treatment for addicts, the vast majority of which are based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/every-year-our-state-and-federal-governments-spend-over-15-billion-on/) [Lance Dodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-dodes/) > [“People suffering with addictions as a rule tend to be well aware of the many “wrongs” they have committed. Awareness of this fact doesn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/people-suffering-with-addictions-as-a-rule-tend-to-be-well-aware-of/) [Lance Dodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-dodes/) > [“Going to rehab” is likewise a common refrain in music and film, where it is almost always uncritically presented as the one true hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/going-to-rehab-is-likewise-a-common-refrain-in-music-and-film-where/) [Lance Dodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-dodes/) > [“AA has managed to survive, in part, because members who become and remain sober speak and write about it regularly. This is no accident:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/aa-has-managed-to-survive-in-part-because-members-who-become-and/) [Lance Dodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-dodes/) > [“Peer-reviewed studies peg the success rate of AA somewhere between 5 and 10 percent. That is, about one of every fifteen people who enter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/peer-reviewed-studies-peg-the-success-rate-of-aa-somewhere-between-5/) [Lance Dodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-dodes/) > [“There is nothing inherently wrong with apologizing to those who have been harmed, directly or indirectly, by the consequences of addiction. The problem is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/there-is-nothing-inherently-wrong-with-apologizing-to-those-who-have/) [Lance Dodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-dodes/) > [“He also found himself increasingly resentful of the “tally system” that AA uses to measure sobriety: every time he “slipped” and had a drink,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/he-also-found-himself-increasingly-resentful-of-the-tally-system-that/) [Lance Dodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-dodes/) > [“AA began as a nonprofessional attempt to grapple with the alcoholism of its founders. It arose and took its famous twelve steps directly from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/aa-began-as-a-nonprofessional-attempt-to-grapple-with-the-alcoholism/) [Lance Dodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-dodes/) > [“More than anything, AA offers a comforting veneer of actionable change: it is something you can do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/more-than-anything-aa-offers-a-comforting-veneer-of-actionable-change/) [Lance Dodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-dodes/) > [“In 2006, one of the most prestigious scientific research organizations in the world, the Cochrane Collaboration, conducted a review of the many studies conducted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/in-2006-one-of-the-most-prestigious-scientific-research-organizations/) [Lance Dodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-dodes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholics/lance-dodes/#itemlist", "name": "3 Alcoholics Quotes By Lance Dodes", "numberOfItems": 3, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“AA makes inflated claims about itself. Its foundational document, Alcoholics Anonymous (commonly referred to as the “Big Book” and a perennial best seller), spells out a confident ethos regularly endorsed by AA members: \"Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are less than average. There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest.\" In other words, the program doesn’t fail; you fail. Imagine if similar claims were made in defense of an ineffective antibiotic. Imagine dismissing millions of people who did not respond to a new form of chemotherapy as “constitutionally incapable” of properly receiving the drug. Of course, no researchers would make such claims in scientific circles—if they did, they would risk losing their standing. In professional medicine, if a treatment doesn’t work, it’s the treatment that must be scrutinized, not the patient. 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Most of them don’t even study their own outcomes.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lance Dodes" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/alcoholics-anonymous-was-proclaimed-the-correct-treatment-for/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/741/lance-dodes-29597_12-step-program_alcoholics-anonymous-was-proclaimed-the_1223566.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/741/lance-dodes-29597_12-step-program_alcoholics-anonymous-was-proclaimed-the_1223566.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/741/lance-dodes-29597_12-step-program_alcoholics-anonymous-was-proclaimed-the_1223566.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Alcoholics Anonymous was proclaimed the correct treatment for alcoholism over seventy-five years ago despite…” — Lance Dodes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“AA has managed to survive, in part, because members who become and remain sober speak and write about it regularly. This is no accident: AA’s twelfth step expressly tells members to proselytize for the organization: “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.” Adherence to this step has created a classic sampling error: because most of us hear only from the people who succeeded in the program, it is natural to conclude that they represent the whole. In reality, these members speak for an exceptionally small percentage of addicts.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lance Dodes" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-dodes/aa-has-managed-to-survive-in-part-because-members-who-become-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/235/lance-dodes-29597_12-step-program_aa-has-managed-to-survive-in-part-becaus_1459458.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/235/lance-dodes-29597_12-step-program_aa-has-managed-to-survive-in-part-becaus_1459458.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/235/lance-dodes-29597_12-step-program_aa-has-managed-to-survive-in-part-becaus_1459458.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“AA has managed to survive, in part, because members who become and remain sober speak and write about it…” — Lance Dodes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholics/lance-dodes/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholics/lance-dodes/", "name": "Alcoholics Quotes by Lance Dodes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholics/lance-dodes/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c3/lance-dodes-29597_12-step-program_aa-makes-inflated-claims-about-itself-it_248061.jpg" }, "description": "3 Alcoholics quotes by Lance Dodes. 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