Originally Posted by
JamesfrmEngland 
It's something mature, responsible adults do. Addiction is really just childish irresponsibility and the love of pleasure at the detriment of everything else. Which is not a problem depending on your morals.
And there's an example of one view of addiction.
Me, I think about it differently. I truly believe that addiction is a disease, pure and simple. We do not choose to be alcoholics, we are in fact critically and potentially terminally ill, and beyond the whys and wherefores and surface reasons (ie, irresponsibility, joy, childishness, escapism, etc) lies the simple fact that we are sick. Morals, IMO and IME, have zero to do with us being sick.
Choice does come in as far as how we get treatment. Mental illness and addiction are widely debated topics- nature v nurture, choosing a sh*tty life of base and selfish behaviors v "being a grown up and decent person, d*mmit you jerk" and so on- and here is my bottom line: there is something I can do about my disease, regardless of where it came from or why I have it, and I am doing it.
How we look on the surface or to each other, is completely beside the point. AV's can get us mired in semantics and have us split hairs on everything under the sun. Sure, and adult "should" live a mature, responsible life- and that means countless things, and drinking (or not) safely is just one.
If being sober is making your life better- and your mind clearer and your overall life better for YOU - then that's enough reason to stay sober, IMO and IME. Then, you know, there's that terminal illness part I'd have going for me.
Keep going.