Honestly? I was told he would go to AA, he would stop drinking, etc. Guess what? He went to one AA meeting(said all they did there was b**** about their wives) and well, stopped for 45 days.
He will CONTINUE to cause damage. What's next, a DUI followed by several "driving while suspended" tickets? He's been arrested 3 times in the last 7 months, whereas he'd only been arrested once (and that time involved alcohol too) since he'd turned 18.
Or, will he stop supporting his wife and child, and decide to spend his money on fish tanks(7 of them! biggest 75 gallons) while his wife has to go to food pantries to feed the kids, pay the bills only when they are at risk of being shut off(and she has to BEG him to pay them).
It is a progressive disease, I was in your place years ago(see my registration date? Thing is, I really didn't start posting until last fall, but I'd been registered here for years), now I see how far he has fallen down the hole, how far he has sunk into the alcohol. And I've chosen the opposite path, I won't fall down the hole with him anymore.