A long time ago, one of the BA selection Q's was " you meet the crew in the hotel lobby, the Capt doesn't seem to be completely sober, what will you do"?
Of course the answer they wanted is that you were going to shop him, then contact your H.R specialist enquiring after his welfare & trying to ensure he received counselling etc etc. . . the usual politically correct stuff.
I wrongly (I suspect, with the benefit of hindsight) answered that I was going to suggest he called in sick & that I would be happy to confirm subsequently that he looked unwell, whilst making discrete enquiries of colleagues as to whether anyone had given them cause for concern in this respect, and if it seemed this was the case, having a quiet word with a company doctor.
Of course the real answer was, "well, if he is like that, WHAT state do you imagine I am in ? Hell, I just night-stopped with him! " how different were attitudes 25 yrs ago.
I am not bemoaning this change,I would question however, whether the rush to demonise someone who perhaps overdid it the night before,has been matched by widespred availability of a non-punitive system, to attempt to help people through whatever problems they have (& it is seldom just a desire to be a p1sshead, it is usually something far more serious /fundamental in their life)
Generally, responsible/educated individuals are aware of their obligations, and will not (except in rare cases by simple misjudgement) put themselves in this position, risking everything , just to have 1 last noggin.
25 years ago, everyone knew who the company "drinking men" were, it was not such a short list, and was seen more as the norm, than nowadays. The ones who were at the extreme end of the scale were also known, yet I never heard of anyone being counseled, for what was, in some cases, a fairly serious drink problem. I doubt if much progress has been made since then, the main difference being that checking/trapping has gone up the scale.
Our job & the nomadic life-style it imposes on many of us, qualify us as pretty hot candidates for this sort of thing. On the inevitable occasions when it goes wrong, it would be nice if the "holier than thous" could direct their indignation at tackling the problem, rather than simple admonishment of the individual.
"Play the ball, not the man" !