Having had to "dry out" twice in hospital , once with the aid of Hemerneverin ( not sure of the spelling !) and once with the help of Librium, to which I was already addicted in the first place (!) , I think I may know a little about the subject . For a start, alcohol is a very potent and addictive substance , upon which many doctors agree that IF it had only just been discovered , it would immediately have been placed on the "Dangerous Drugs " list.However , and unfortunately , its widespresd use , both socially (good !) and privately (bad !) over millenia has ensured its universal , or at least global , acceptance.
             In this last respect, I was actually GIVEN free and gratis , a relatively large amount of it daily, as part of my job ; as a British sailor in the Royal Navy , and being over the age of twenty , I was entitled to a daily "tot" of rum, one eighth of a PINT , mixed with twice that amount of water (and known as "Grog" ) upon which I rapidly came to depend ; indeed lunchtime ( when we recaived our "fix") would never seem , and has never seemed , the same again !! Add to this a couple of pints of Tiger every day ( aboard ship ) and VAST amounts of the same , plus copious amounts of " Vodka Collins" when in Singapore , for example, and it doesn't take long to understand why there is a very high incidence of alcohol dependence among ex- Navy ( and to a lessser extent, ex- Army and Air Force ) personnel.
                  The only way to stop , in my bitter experience , and as already mentioned here by others , is to WANT to give it up. I wanted to quit, the first time , because I could neither stand up nor speak coherently , a frightening and literally sobering , experience . The second time , I was threatened with expulsion from a course I was doing at Bournemouth University, if I didn't "sober up " ; so I did ! Oddly, it was much easier that second time. The same applies to smoking ; I really WANTED to give it up because I could not climb a short stairway without stopping and gasping for breath.
                  So ; I have not had a cigarette for 8 or 9 years now, and am healthier & wealthier , though,sadly , fatter !! Luckily for me , and , I suspect , others , some , and only some , doctors endorse the idea of "controlled drinking" ; this requires a lot of awareness , self-discipline , and stamina if, like me , you can't really face the thought of total abstinence for the rest of your life without a drink now and then . So that's what I do ; "Drink Aware" which it says with questionable grammatical accuracy on the average bottle. But I know what the consequences might be if I ignore that advice . Cheers !
               PS I believe in the existance of the "Addictive Personality" syndrome, and have encountered it personally in many forms, not just with regard to nicotine or alcohol ; in my case , also women ,sex , food , even playing the guitar !; virtual obsessions all , although for some reason I have never touched Cannabis ( well , once !) , Cocaine , Heroin or any other known addictive substance --- strange , isn't it ???