Most folks in AA wouldn't tell you that you can stop drinking forever. I can say I probably will not drink today. "24 hour reprieve" is what we call it.
Not that I plan on drinking tomorrow but I've "quit forever" a time or two and it didn't work out for me. I'll settle for today.
Maybe I'm not the best suited to comment here. I'm convinced that I did my first three steps sincerely while I was still drinking. My life was a certified disaster. I knew I couldn't straighten it out alone and sure hoped somebody could. And I turned it over. After intake at my rehab, I walked into my assigned counselor's office and told her, "I'm a mess. Tell me what I need to do."
The idea that I could straighten anything out, in that state, was illusion. I had the moment of clarity that got me where I needed to be and it's probably the only reason I'm alive.