I'd consider "normal alcohol use" to the the use of it that is so broadly considered socially acceptable that even people who need to keep a clean public image

I'd consider "normal alcohol use" to the the use of it that is so broadly considered socially acceptable that even people who need to keep a clean public image don't have trouble doing it publicly. You know, wine with dinner. A bottle of beer during a football game. A cocktail at a party. There is a well-understood zone, both in terms of dosage and surrounding activity, within which alcohol use causes zero problems. Certainly nowhere close to loss of control. There are social rules and expectations reinforcing the boundaries of that zone. Lots of people stay within it and have . . . zero problems.