It's true that physically you can become addicted to any substance if you do it often enough and in high enough quantities. That's hardly news, even in those times I'm sure.
What AA or the founders of AA did bring to the table (but ironically isn't mentioned often or seen as part of the program) was the description of addiction as an ongoing cycle of mental obsession, physical compulsion, and emotional remorse. The mental part of it is what AA and other recovery methods actually treat, not the physical detox or abstinence.
So my point is that we need to look at more than the rate of progression and degree of physical consequences when deciding what kind of treatment someone actually needs. AA does not need to be reserved for end stage alcoholics only, if we can determine someone is on a mental and emotional path that will inevitably take them there in time.