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>So it has been normalized for millennia Alcohol abuse is not normalized in most developed nations. America is a harmful exception.

by x220 8y ago

FiveSquared25 8y ago
Germany has left the chat.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
rblatz 8y ago
Russia, England, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and large parts of Eastern Europe disagree with that assertion.
owlninja 8y ago
Seems like another unnecessary slam on America. I think the UK, Canada, and most of Eastern Europe have greater alcohol consumption per capita.
filoleg 8y ago
I don’t know where you are getting this info from. Both legitimate data (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumption_per_capita https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol...) and my personal anecdata support the fact that the US isn’t even close to being the country with the most normalized attitude towards alcoholism. Just visit South Korea and try to count the number of drunk salarymen passed out outside. For those lazy to click the link: the US is 24th in terms of alcohol consumption per capita on that 2015 list of developed countries, out of 33 total. In the older list from 2010, which featured more countries, US was number 48.
- moorhosj 8y ago
  You are correct, but there could also be a point about binge drinking versus steady consumption.
- x220 8y ago
  This is a good case of statistics being insufficient without proper interpreting. There's a huge difference between the health of someone who has one drink with dinner every day and someone who has seven drinks in one night every Friday and passes out at a bar. Mere total alcohol consumption is insufficient to determine abuse.
  - RobAtticus 8y ago
    Sure, but you'd need to give some evidence that the USA's distribution of consumption is notably different than similar Western countries, e.g., the UK or Germany, which consume 25-30% more per person than the US. Basically the US would need to have a lot more heavy drinkers and a lot more (near) teetotalers for it to have both a (non-trivially) lower average per capita AND more dangerous drinking habits.
    - x220 8y ago
      I'm not sure if that evidence exists or is easy to find. From anecdotal evidence I can say that the people I've seen drinking in America either drink quite rarely (a couple times a week) and far too much at a time (vomiting) or hardly drink at all. Anecdotally I've learned that in parts of Ireland you can see people drinking very regularly but not so much that they get drunk when they do drink.
      - moron4hire 8y ago
        Your liver doesn't really care the time frame over which you drink the alcohol.
        mattkrause 8y ago
        Are you sure about that? Steatosis is reversible if you give the liver time to recover, for example.
        moron4hire 8y ago

>So it has been normalized for millennia Alcohol abuse is not normalized in most developed nations. America is a harmful exception.

by x220 8y ago

>So it has been normalized for millennia Alcohol abuse is not normalized in most developed nations. America is a harmful exception.

FiveSquared25 8y ago

Germany has left the chat.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

rblatz 8y ago

Russia, England, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and large parts of Eastern Europe disagree with that assertion.

owlninja 8y ago

Seems like another unnecessary slam on America. I think the UK, Canada, and most of Eastern Europe have greater alcohol consumption per capita.

filoleg 8y ago

I don’t know where you are getting this info from. Both legitimate data (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumption_per_capita https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol...) and my personal anecdata support the fact that the US isn’t even close to being the country with the most normalized attitude towards alcoholism. Just visit South Korea and try to count the number of drunk salarymen passed out outside. For those lazy to click the link: the US is 24th in terms of alcohol consumption per capita on that 2015 list of developed countries, out of 33 total. In the older list from 2010, which featured more countries, US was number 48.

moorhosj 8y ago
You are correct, but there could also be a point about binge drinking versus steady consumption.
x220 8y ago
This is a good case of statistics being insufficient without proper interpreting. There's a huge difference between the health of someone who has one drink with dinner every day and someone who has seven drinks in one night every Friday and passes out at a bar. Mere total alcohol consumption is insufficient to determine abuse.
- RobAtticus 8y ago
  Sure, but you'd need to give some evidence that the USA's distribution of consumption is notably different than similar Western countries, e.g., the UK or Germany, which consume 25-30% more per person than the US. Basically the US would need to have a lot more heavy drinkers and a lot more (near) teetotalers for it to have both a (non-trivially) lower average per capita AND more dangerous drinking habits.
  - x220 8y ago
    I'm not sure if that evidence exists or is easy to find. From anecdotal evidence I can say that the people I've seen drinking in America either drink quite rarely (a couple times a week) and far too much at a time (vomiting) or hardly drink at all. Anecdotally I've learned that in parts of Ireland you can see people drinking very regularly but not so much that they get drunk when they do drink.
    - moron4hire 8y ago
      Your liver doesn't really care the time frame over which you drink the alcohol.
      - mattkrause 8y ago
        Are you sure about that? Steatosis is reversible if you give the liver time to recover, for example.
        moron4hire 8y ago