The sociology of drinking
Typical Gladwell article.  In fact, the truth is simple: The farther from the cradle of civilization [1] you get, the worse the alcoholism.  Thus, Arabs and Jews are rarely alcoholics, whereas Irish and Russians commonly are.  When you get to Indigenous Americans and Australians, alcoholism is a serious problem.  It's simple adaptation, no different than adaptation to smallpox.[1] Where ethanol was first manufactured.