yes, open eyes, that's why interventions can help. if one occurs a professional that knows how to do this is neccesary. otherwise it usually isn't effective. active alcoholics are so cunning to weedle a way out otherwise.
education about alcoholism is the key. at schools and at home. had i understood alcoholism i wouldn't have married a functional drunk. i didn't know what to look for. i wouldn't have become myself an alcoholic. the worse experience i had was i told my gp the only thing i could tell him was i was drinking and i'd never drunk before. tragically he prescribed a benzo which resulted in my downward spiral even more quickly. i was not educated about any of this and then my gp compounded the prob. and he dismissed my concern.
when i got sober i educated my son. he was 16 at the time. i also told him he could have the predisposition to alcoholism. he learned to be cautious about drinking. he still is. his wife is an ACOA too. she was educated about alcoholism too. both are success stories about not activating the disease. now i've educated my young grandchildren and their parents have too. i'm hoping we will break the chain of self destruction by being proactive. i believe we will.