As for the person who honestly continues to drink and at the same time honestly has what they call a quality of life, they are the silent majority which already exist in our society, imo. The social drinker.
They don't refer to themselves as alcoholics, or otherwise addicted to alcohol. They may say they had some problems, dealt with them, and back to drinking, its all good. Live and learn, they just keep going onward, glass in hand when required. Who's to judge them?