I found with urge surfing ( as i later found out it was called) that the AV only hangs around for so long if you ignore it and don't engage .
The more i read about alcohol , the more i read of peoples experiences of it here the further off the table it got pushed .
It fell off the table completely at about 14 months for me , all i get these days is a fleeting thought "oh you could have a beer" then the rest of my mind scoffs at the idea and says , "NOT !" in a 1990's kind of way, then i carry on dealing with life sober and my mind focuses on something else .
the further it is off the table it was as an option the less repetitive thoughts i had over time .
m