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> as little as 21 drinks per week That is an incredible amount of alcohol as a minimum. Was that a typo, or does it really take that much to see significant ne

> as little as 21 drinks per week That is an incredible amount of alcohol as a minimum. Was that a typo, or does it really take that much to see significant negative effects?

paulcole 7y ago
It’s not that crazy. Mimosa for breakfast, martini for lunch, tipple during the work day, and wine with dinner. That plus going out to restaurant/country club/church on the weekend and it starts to add up. Most people in such social circles have to be at 30-35 drinks a week and that’s not even including any sort of special celebrations.
- LIV2 7y ago
  That's called being an alcoholic
  - paulcole 7y ago
    Didn’t know you had an HN account, Dad.
- TylerE 7y ago
  Actually it's even less than that, as the "standard" drink is a rather conservative measure - 14g of 100% alcohol, or roughly on can of 5% beer, or 1.5oz of 40% liquor. Many cocktails could easily be 3 or 4 "drinks". Which still isn't saying 21 "standard" drinks a week isn't a fair amount, but it's not that crazy. For instance, say you go out on a Friday and have 5 pints of an 8% IPA over the course of the evening. That's 10.4 standard drinks.
- kortilla 7y ago
  That is crazy. It’s the textbook definition of alcoholism.
  - paulcole 7y ago
    That’s pretty offensive. Some people just live a different lifestyle.
    - gnaritas 7y ago
      That lifestyle has a well known name, it's called alcoholism.
    - shadowoflight 7y ago
      I cannot for the life of me tell if you’re being sarcastic or not, but in case you’re not: There is no subculture in which 21 servings of alcohol per week is not alcoholism, with the exception of alcoholics who are in denial.
- antisthenes 7y ago
  > Mimosa for breakfast, martini for lunch, tipple during the work day, and wine with dinner. This is not typical of a normal working adult. I don't care what social circles you're a part of, unless it's some weird Instagram socialite promoting alcoholic beverages. I'm sure there are social circles where eating 5000 calories a day is considered normal too. Doesn't mean we should normalize it or pretend it's healthy.
jetrink 7y ago
Keep in mind that a drink is defined as 14g of alcohol. A drink of wine is four to five fluid ounces, but most people pour much more than that when they have a glass at home. It's similar with beer. A 12oz bottle of 5% ABV beer is a drink, but many craft beers are 7-10%. It's easy to have a couple of beers or glasses of wine and have 3-4 drinks in the process.
- dragonwriter 7y ago
  > It's easy to have a couple of beers or glasses of wine and have 3-4 drinks in the process. Yes and even drinking that quantity of high ABV beer or large glasses of wine that you describe and you'd still have to do it every day of the week to hit 21 drinks a week. It is, as suggested upthread, an incredible amount of alcohol to describe with “as little as”.

> as little as 21 drinks per week That is an incredible amount of alcohol as a minimum. Was that a typo, or does it really take that much to see significant negative effects?

paulcole 7y ago

It’s not that crazy. Mimosa for breakfast, martini for lunch, tipple during the work day, and wine with dinner. That plus going out to restaurant/country club/church on the weekend and it starts to add up. Most people in such social circles have to be at 30-35 drinks a week and that’s not even including any sort of special celebrations.

LIV2 7y ago
That's called being an alcoholic
- paulcole 7y ago
  Didn’t know you had an HN account, Dad.
TylerE 7y ago
Actually it's even less than that, as the "standard" drink is a rather conservative measure - 14g of 100% alcohol, or roughly on can of 5% beer, or 1.5oz of 40% liquor. Many cocktails could easily be 3 or 4 "drinks". Which still isn't saying 21 "standard" drinks a week isn't a fair amount, but it's not that crazy. For instance, say you go out on a Friday and have 5 pints of an 8% IPA over the course of the evening. That's 10.4 standard drinks.
kortilla 7y ago
That is crazy. It’s the textbook definition of alcoholism.
- paulcole 7y ago
  That’s pretty offensive. Some people just live a different lifestyle.
  - gnaritas 7y ago
    That lifestyle has a well known name, it's called alcoholism.
  - shadowoflight 7y ago
    I cannot for the life of me tell if you’re being sarcastic or not, but in case you’re not: There is no subculture in which 21 servings of alcohol per week is not alcoholism, with the exception of alcoholics who are in denial.
antisthenes 7y ago
> Mimosa for breakfast, martini for lunch, tipple during the work day, and wine with dinner. This is not typical of a normal working adult. I don't care what social circles you're a part of, unless it's some weird Instagram socialite promoting alcoholic beverages. I'm sure there are social circles where eating 5000 calories a day is considered normal too. Doesn't mean we should normalize it or pretend it's healthy.

jetrink 7y ago

Keep in mind that a drink is defined as 14g of alcohol. A drink of wine is four to five fluid ounces, but most people pour much more than that when they have a glass at home. It's similar with beer. A 12oz bottle of 5% ABV beer is a drink, but many craft beers are 7-10%. It's easy to have a couple of beers or glasses of wine and have 3-4 drinks in the process.

dragonwriter 7y ago
> It's easy to have a couple of beers or glasses of wine and have 3-4 drinks in the process. Yes and even drinking that quantity of high ABV beer or large glasses of wine that you describe and you'd still have to do it every day of the week to hit 21 drinks a week. It is, as suggested upthread, an incredible amount of alcohol to describe with “as little as”.