WaterOx, you can get away from the drink just like you got away from the cigarettes. I haven't posted about this aspect of my addictive nature, but I chewed tobacco to 28 years. I haven't kept track of the dates on that one, but I'm somewhere in the neighborhood of 60-70 days tobacco free, and that feels great.
I quit that before I had my last drink. It was easier to quit, for me, than the alcohol. Still hard, but easier. You can put down the drink. If it was the negative health aspects of cigarettes that helped you maintain your resolve in quitting them, do a little internet searching on the negative health aspects of over-indulgence in alcohol. Anything you can do to help you stop is a good thing.