Not a weakness, but more like mental illness/disease.
People have a predisposition coming from alcoholc (and abusive) families, by having no one knowing or teaching them coping mechanisms to deal with stress. Usually resulting in family dysfunction, It results in people coping by using escapism, and dopamine abuse (gambling, drugs etc). This usually upgrades overtime from simple escapism, to drugs and alcohol. This is also known as an "addictive personality". I personally have always observed this behavior in my own family, and other families as well.
I am a severe alcoholic. While I agree it is on me to truly quit, it is not easy. I know, I just did it recently. Alcohol, is more physically addictive than some of the hardest drugs (heroin etc). It is among the few that will literally kill you if you try to quit due to the physical addiction. I got a taste of Delerium tremens once, and it is not fun.
As I seen earlier in this thread, it is seemingly a cure all happy pill. There were times when I thought I was only happy while drinking. Since I already experience anhedonia quite often. I grew up in an abusive household and embraced the addiction to alcohol willingly. There is a saying, "Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic". This saying is scarily true. No matter how long ago you have quit, you will never truly stop thinking of it. It rewires your brain.