I respect and admire AA a great deal.
Good to know it's there if I need it, either now or down the road.
That said, my only complaint with AA is the culture of and acceptance of smoking. My sobriety/recovery includes smoking and it's not a coincidence that smoking was the last addiction I recovered from when I decided to give up drugs and alcohol. At AA, most everyone smokes, it's like the last gasp vice and some AA people cling to it like a life-raft. So for me it's hard to be around smokers and smoking, especially if it's not only accepted but almost promoted as an alternative to drinking. In the past, being around it has led me back to it, the old saying if you can't beat em, join em. On top of that I hate the smell of cigarettes on people, I hate breathing 2nd hand smoke, and I hate getting 2nd hand smoke on and in my clothes. So smartly I avoid smokers and smoking.
All this smoking is an issue for me as far as AA is concerned.
I have no issue with the steps.
I do not see it as a brainwashing cult.
And I have no issue with the concept of a Higher Power.
However the LAST thing I wanna do is end up smoking again, it was harder for me to stop smoking than it was to quit drinking. By far, not even close, multiple nicotine relapses can attest to this, and yet on on my first ever "quit" with drinking, it's been almost two years. Needless to say my first "quit" with nicotine (back in like 1989) was neither as lengthy or as successful as this. I think I went a month. Not saying I'm drunk proof or outta the woods yet as far as drinking is concerned but when I look at all things honestly, the risk of a smoking relapse because of AA outweighs the benefits of AA for drinking right now, for me.