Many experts stress, that addition is not an illness, but a personality trait. You can't heal addition, you can only learn addicted to cope with the temptation.

There's no ex-alcoholics. There are only non-practicing alcoholics.

You should make no pressure to your colleague to come to an event that's about drinking. It won't be good for him. There's a big risk the addiction will take over.

The best way would be to split meeting to semi-official dinner part with no or moderate amount of alcohol (glass of wine or beer), greetings, speeches, sharing experience, smalltalk etc. and put possibly heavy drinking part as optional, afterwards. It would give an opportunity for everyone who want to come, but is not very keen on heavy drinking, to take part, and skip the optional drinking part, in the same time, give people having no issues with alcohol to have fun and socialize more intensively.

I understand it might be not an option to change the plan, but it would be more accommodating to everyone.

Many experts stress that addiction is not an illness, but a personality trait. You can't heal addiction, you can only teach someone who is addicted to cope with the temptation.

There are no ex-alcoholics. There are only non-practicing alcoholics.

You should make no pressure to your colleague to come to an event that's about drinking. It won't be good for him. There's a big risk the addiction will take over.

The best way would be to split meeting to semi-official dinner part with no or moderate amount of alcohol (glass of wine or beer), greetings, speeches, sharing experience, smalltalk etc. and put possibly heavy drinking part as optional, afterwards. It would give an opportunity for everyone who want to come, but is not very keen on heavy drinking, to take part, and skip the optional drinking part, in the same time, give people having no issues with alcohol to have fun and socialize more intensively.

I understand it might be not an option to change the plan, but it would be more accommodating to everyone.