Alcohol is a different animal, simply because it's so ingrained in our society... to the point that most of us have actually inherited a significant genetic tolerance. Some ethnic populations, due to their history, don't have that tolerance and it shows when they get thrown in with the rest of us... without the tolerance, alcohol is pretty bad news, maybe more like heroin.

It is starting to look like like zero alcohol is best for health overall, although it is acknowledged that it serves as a social lubricant that can help some folks with psychologically important social interactions.

The path to "solving" the alcohol problem is probably the same as for weed: education and awareness. Not practical to ban it for all of us just to protect the few who will chose to abuse (or prone to addiction). Just don't show up to work under the influence.

I routinely drink (100% socially), but also routinely take long breaks usually when I'm too busy to socialize much. So yeah I know I can walk away any time, because I do.

Anecdotally, Trump doesn't drink and Putin and Xi seem to only drink when required for formal functions. So maybe if we can get all of us hypocritical drinkers to stop we can have more national leaders with grand ambitions!