A single drink triggers a relapse into addiction in recovering alcoholics.

Is it true that a single drink triggers a relapse into addiction in recovering alcoholics?

Partly. The retrieved items only partially address the claim: some list drug priming or discrete relapse situations as triggers, while others describe relapse as a gradual process or a time-based hazard rather than a single-drink trigger. No item directly tests whether one drink causes relapse in recovering alcoholics.

Verdict: CONTESTED PARTIAL · 3 sources for, 2 against · Last checked 3 Oct 2026

The private library was unavailable for some searches in this check. Missing library results are not evidence against the claim.

Pyn, L. B. P. & Yon-Seng, K. S. (2021). Associative processes in addiction relapse models: A review of their Pavlovian and instrumental mechanisms, history, and terminology. zenodo.org. https://doi.org/10.35430/nab.2021.e18

Relapse Prevention and the Five Rules of Recovery - PMC Lock. (n.d.). pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4553654/

CONNORS, G. J., O'FARRELL, T. J., & PELCOVITS, M. A. (1988). Drinking Outcome Expectancies among Male Alcoholics During Relapse Situations. doi.org. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1988.tb02575.x

K., H. L., C., M. C., & Jennifer, N. (2011). Using Experiential Activities to Prepare Counselors-in-Training to Understand the Power of Cravings when Addressing Clients with Addiction. eric.ed.gov. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ928877

Fabio, S. (2026). Relapse timing and the endemic basin: how the shape of the relapse hazard moves the fold. zenodo.org. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21862238