Bright is a wise, understanding friend. Addictions don't just go away in a day. A person might abstain from their addiction for a year only to go back to it the next. It doesn't mean he has failed. It's part of the process just as far as he never quits trying to break free.
You are very right. To break the shackles of addiction, it requires a committed effort to stand up after each fall till no fall is recorded again.