I can sort of relate, what gets me most is when someone says "I NEED a drink" because I guess I've heard that so many times from AH, that he NEEDS it, or rather also "I deserve" (a few beers, a drink, etc.)...
I personally still choose to drink on occasion, and since I have had to get out of my house a lot lately, I have been spending more time out which frequently involves meeting someone for a drink or going out with friends. I can separate the fact that when I drink with my friends or choose to have a beer at home after work that I can stop after one, or two or three, whenever I choose. That I don't do it to get wasted and that I'm not caught in its grips.
When I'm around my AH I don't like to drink, because it disgusts me seeing him chain-drink and chain-smoke all day. I'd imagine if I were with him for more years I might eventually not want to drink ever again too.
But yeah, I get the same cringe when I hear the reasons why people drink, and it turns me off to people who talk about drinking all the time.