Suggests that current estimates of a 10-15% lifetime risk of suicide (LRS) in alcoholism are incompatible with existing data & that previous calculations are overestimates. Data from follow-up studies of alcoholics & from studies of probands experiencing different levels of treatment are examined. Although the LRS derived for alcoholics in the US & other western countries with similar suicide rates was lower than is currently held, it was 60-120X higher than the LRS for the general population.