an end to a means

we often ask if the end justifies the means.
the end seems like some great goal but the way we get there is questionable.
but what about when the end is questionable?
take a heavy drinker.
they drink pints and pints every day.
they know exactly the consequences.
the damage done to their liver, the fool they make of themselves when they're drunk, the dangers of drink driving and date rape. but something about the binge drinking pulls them in so much that they ignore that, and dive back into their next beer bottle.
do the means justify the end?
what about a general case.
is it worth risking the most important things of all, for a few shallow and unfulfilling things in the present?
zoom out and see the big picture