Yes he was a fool, yes he was irresponsible, yes his licence priviliges should be suspended and yes he should be punished.
But NO he should not automatically be banned for life - hopefully he will get the correct medical/physcological treatment and, if he reacts to this correctly, his priviliges should be reinstated as for any other illness that is overcome.
Alcoholism (and other addictions) are a little understood problem by the masses who have not experienced them personally or worked closely with them.