That could as easily have backfired, especially because AA is religious and has cultish vibes. A young person who drinks that much might well end up deciding to

That could as easily have backfired, especially because AA is religious and has cultish vibes. A young person who drinks that much might well end up deciding to say fuck this and drink even more. We know there are better and more effective ways (Sinclair method, or even just reading The easy way to stop drinking), but they don't have the cultural heft that AA has.