Alcohol is a poison, one that many find addictive, especially those under stress and with genetic predispositions to such biochemical responses. To have it so readily available in times of social stress is a MF own goal for any nation - rippling toxic harm into society.
Never sober and often drunk, he lived in his primitive brain and behaved accordingly.
Alcoholics don't just dull pain, they dull and dumb down joy, self control and creative problem solving too - they live in the cage of the primitive brain.
Alcohol shuts down the more highly evolved prefrontal cortex, and so this addiction brings a form of zombie-state, a deterioration of all that makes a person great.
An alcoholic does harm the same way a firework made of razor blades would - unconsciously and without comprehension of the vile damage they do.