Canada

I think you misunderstand me. Running away from problems is rarely a good thing. Usually it'll only make things worse, so I completely agree with you.

But the issue is that it is human nature to go for the quick and easy way out, even if it means that you'll be in deeper shit because you did so. This isn't restricted to alcohol abuse either. I personally know a guy who got married because he accidentally got his girlfriend pregnant. He wasn't anywhere close to being ready to commit to it, but he went the easy route once, and now he's saddled with a marriage and baby he didn't want for life. And this is a common story, and people keep making this mistake even after being burned.

How many people can you think of who are obese and don't do anything about it despite knowing full well that one thing probably cut their life down by 10 years if they don't fix things, yet still eat far too much and indulge in sweets or other high calorie foods?

I'm not arguing against you on this point at all. Alcohol isn't a good drug at all, and generally don't provide any real benefits. Either you're dependent on it for numbing some sort of pain, or you consume it just so you're not ostracized by your social circle. Any time someone says that they drink because they truly enjoy it only does because one of those two things had happened in the past and now they've merely adapted to it and formed a different sort of dependancy.