4 ms·

Opioid issues are easy PR, which is why they get the limelight. The perception is that only junkies abuse opioids, but lots of people drink alcohol; it's "norma

Opioid issues are easy PR, which is why they get the limelight. The perception is that only junkies abuse opioids, but lots of people drink alcohol; it's "normal", unlike opioids. As someone who doesn't drink, I've personally had a difficult time for not doing so (professionally, socially, etc.) because there's very much an expectation that everyone does. It's the typical "other guy is bad" strategy, and serves as a safe public issue for politicians to attack without pissing off parts of their constituency. Same reason we don't see any movement on the sky-rocketing rates of venereal disease: also regarded as normal, and discouraging the behaviors that lead to it won't get votes.

MeltySmelty 7y ago
yep. not drinking is one of the best choices anyone could make.
- vasilipupkin 7y ago
  Actually, I would strongly disagree with this claim. As long as you don’t drink and drive, most people would probably benefit from moderate drinking. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/alcohol/art-20044551 https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-h... https://www.insider.com/drinking-health-benefits-heart-nutrition-2019-10 https://www.insider.com/drinking-health-benefits-heart-nutri...
  - DanBC 7y ago
    > most people At the moment all the evidence we have says that msot people don't get any benefit from drinking. If you're a woman aged over 60 you get some benefit from drinking about one small[1] glass of wine a day (with some days drink free). No-one else gets that benefit. For everyone else the harm increases with dose, although the risks of small amounts of alcohol for most people are very small. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31310-2/fulltext https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6... (Note this article doesn't include harm caused by intoxicated driving or intoxicated violence). [1] 125 ml of wine at 8% ABV, or about 88 ml of wine at 12%. That's really not much. Most people would have glasses that are 175 ml or 250 ml. (These are standard serving sizes in UK restaurants.)
    - vasilipupkin 7y ago
      If you read this carefully, that’s not what this study says. 3 leading causes of death they associate with alcohol globally is tuberculosis, road accidents and self harm. Obviously none of those three apply to a moderate drinker ( who doesn’t drink and drive ) Here is a quote right from this paper “Females, particularly in high SDI locations, experienced some protective effects for ischaemic heart disease and diabetes beyond 60 years of age. For males, only high SDI and low SDI locations had noticeable protective effects for ischaemic heart disease”
      - DanBC 7y ago
        > Obviously none of those three apply to a moderate drinker I don't think you can say that.
        vasilipupkin 7y ago
        Well, I mean these findings describe the overall probability or impact of alcohol, which includes injuries and tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is not exactly an issue for most readers of this website and injuries can be avoided if you don’t drink and drive. For example, I drink moderately but never ever drink and drive. So, statistics on alcohol harm that include injures from drinking and driving are completely irrelevant to my personal decision to drink or not.
awb 7y ago
> I've personally had a difficult time for not doing so (professionally, socially, etc.) It was the same for me for about 6 months, maybe a year. Then people stopped offering drinks or asking why I didn't drink and things felt normal again. I think part of it was not going in to how bad it is for you because people who drink already know. I don't get uncomfortable without a drink, but if I feel like other people are anxious that I'm not drinking sometimes it helps to have an opaque cup with water (at home) or a mocktail (at a bar) so from across the room it looks like I have a drink. I've found that most 30+ yrs old people that asked why I don't drink don't really like drinking either and feel like they won't have fun or enjoy the party as much or fit in if they don't drink, but that they don't like the bloating or hangover effects if they have more than a drink or two.
- tyfon 7y ago
  > I've found that most 30+ yrs old people that asked why I don't drink don't really like drinking either and feel like they won't have fun or enjoy the party as much or fit in if they don't drink, but that they don't like the bloating or hangover effects if they have more than a drink or two. I'm about to cross 40 and I've stopped drinking completely. I don't enjoy the feeling and even after one beer I get depressed for three days following. There are lots of comments when I'm doing something socially but I just don't care. It's not my job to make people feel good about their drug use.
  - awb 7y ago
    > There are lots of comments when I'm doing something socially but I just don't care I can see how people might feel abandoned when social bonds that formed in and around drinking now have to adapt. Keep going though, your body will appreciate it even if your friends don't right now. And if the friendship can't survive you not drinking, it might not be that healthy of a friendship anyway.
- trts 7y ago
  My personal experience has been that nobody notices. I have even had people ask me the next day how bad I was hurting from the night before. But you're right, it is true that it makes people uncomfortable. When someone offers me a drink, I usually just say thank you, maybe in a bit, or grab something else, or else just accept and not consume it or occasionaly take one small sip. As far as I know my colleagues have no idea that it's not something I ever do. I know this because I also have other colleagues who say, "I don't drink" and have witnessed them become a subject of speculation and intrigue among others when they are not around. The extent of the myth surrounding alcohol and its role in society seems to drive people to make extreme conclusions about an individual's choice to use it or not ('they must have hit rock bottom' e.g.). My preference is to avoid something obviously bad for my physical and emotional health that has no clear upside, and to just leave it at that.
noname120 7y ago
> As someone who doesn't drink, I've personally had a difficult time for not doing so (professionally, socially, etc.) because there's very much an expectation that everyone does. To a lesser extent so is smoking in Paris. When you go out smoking brings a lot of bonding opportunities that you miss if you don't smoke (standing awkwardly on the side isn't the same + passive smoking).

MeltySmelty 7y ago

yep. not drinking is one of the best choices anyone could make.

vasilipupkin 7y ago
Actually, I would strongly disagree with this claim. As long as you don’t drink and drive, most people would probably benefit from moderate drinking. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/alcohol/art-20044551 https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-h... https://www.insider.com/drinking-health-benefits-heart-nutrition-2019-10 https://www.insider.com/drinking-health-benefits-heart-nutri...
- DanBC 7y ago
  > most people At the moment all the evidence we have says that msot people don't get any benefit from drinking. If you're a woman aged over 60 you get some benefit from drinking about one small[1] glass of wine a day (with some days drink free). No-one else gets that benefit. For everyone else the harm increases with dose, although the risks of small amounts of alcohol for most people are very small. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31310-2/fulltext https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6... (Note this article doesn't include harm caused by intoxicated driving or intoxicated violence). [1] 125 ml of wine at 8% ABV, or about 88 ml of wine at 12%. That's really not much. Most people would have glasses that are 175 ml or 250 ml. (These are standard serving sizes in UK restaurants.)
  - vasilipupkin 7y ago
    If you read this carefully, that’s not what this study says. 3 leading causes of death they associate with alcohol globally is tuberculosis, road accidents and self harm. Obviously none of those three apply to a moderate drinker ( who doesn’t drink and drive ) Here is a quote right from this paper “Females, particularly in high SDI locations, experienced some protective effects for ischaemic heart disease and diabetes beyond 60 years of age. For males, only high SDI and low SDI locations had noticeable protective effects for ischaemic heart disease”
    - DanBC 7y ago
      > Obviously none of those three apply to a moderate drinker I don't think you can say that.
      - vasilipupkin 7y ago
        Well, I mean these findings describe the overall probability or impact of alcohol, which includes injuries and tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is not exactly an issue for most readers of this website and injuries can be avoided if you don’t drink and drive. For example, I drink moderately but never ever drink and drive. So, statistics on alcohol harm that include injures from drinking and driving are completely irrelevant to my personal decision to drink or not.

awb 7y ago

> I've personally had a difficult time for not doing so (professionally, socially, etc.) It was the same for me for about 6 months, maybe a year. Then people stopped offering drinks or asking why I didn't drink and things felt normal again. I think part of it was not going in to how bad it is for you because people who drink already know. I don't get uncomfortable without a drink, but if I feel like other people are anxious that I'm not drinking sometimes it helps to have an opaque cup with water (at home) or a mocktail (at a bar) so from across the room it looks like I have a drink. I've found that most 30+ yrs old people that asked why I don't drink don't really like drinking either and feel like they won't have fun or enjoy the party as much or fit in if they don't drink, but that they don't like the bloating or hangover effects if they have more than a drink or two.

tyfon 7y ago
> I've found that most 30+ yrs old people that asked why I don't drink don't really like drinking either and feel like they won't have fun or enjoy the party as much or fit in if they don't drink, but that they don't like the bloating or hangover effects if they have more than a drink or two. I'm about to cross 40 and I've stopped drinking completely. I don't enjoy the feeling and even after one beer I get depressed for three days following. There are lots of comments when I'm doing something socially but I just don't care. It's not my job to make people feel good about their drug use.
- awb 7y ago
  > There are lots of comments when I'm doing something socially but I just don't care I can see how people might feel abandoned when social bonds that formed in and around drinking now have to adapt. Keep going though, your body will appreciate it even if your friends don't right now. And if the friendship can't survive you not drinking, it might not be that healthy of a friendship anyway.
trts 7y ago
My personal experience has been that nobody notices. I have even had people ask me the next day how bad I was hurting from the night before. But you're right, it is true that it makes people uncomfortable. When someone offers me a drink, I usually just say thank you, maybe in a bit, or grab something else, or else just accept and not consume it or occasionaly take one small sip. As far as I know my colleagues have no idea that it's not something I ever do. I know this because I also have other colleagues who say, "I don't drink" and have witnessed them become a subject of speculation and intrigue among others when they are not around. The extent of the myth surrounding alcohol and its role in society seems to drive people to make extreme conclusions about an individual's choice to use it or not ('they must have hit rock bottom' e.g.). My preference is to avoid something obviously bad for my physical and emotional health that has no clear upside, and to just leave it at that.

noname120 7y ago

> As someone who doesn't drink, I've personally had a difficult time for not doing so (professionally, socially, etc.) because there's very much an expectation that everyone does. To a lesser extent so is smoking in Paris. When you go out smoking brings a lot of bonding opportunities that you miss if you don't smoke (standing awkwardly on the side isn't the same + passive smoking).