3 ms·
Alcoholism was extremely common in the past from where I come from. High society acceptance as long as the person didn't wreak too much havoc. It has been idoli
by saiya-jin 6y ago
Alcoholism was extremely common in the past from where I come from. High society acceptance as long as the person didn't wreak too much havoc. It has been idolized in folklore songs, books and stories for children. Just part of the life. Kids drank sometimes too.
Fast forward today - access to alcohol is even better (apart from minors). Yet society doesn't spiral into alcoholic madness apart form few fringe individuals. Maybe education about the inevitable addiction is better? Or people are smarter than peasants 200 years ago? Or whole cultural mindset about getting wasted as part of being social in nearest pub shifted.
- jjeaff 6y agoOr maybe alcohol isn't quite as addictive and destructive as heroine and other opiates?
- inglor_cz 6y agoThat probably depends on the target population as well. Alcohol seems to be very destructive in Native American communities.
- glangdale 6y agoI'd hazard a guess that alcohol is a lot less addictive than heroin, although full-blown alcoholism and withdrawal is no joke. I think we also have a lot of customs around alcohol to mitigate the level and constancy of drinking required to get addicted. Lots of jokes about "it's 5pm somewhere" or "the sun is over the yard arm", "no drinking on a school night", etc. I think there are generally enough taboos around day drinking or being constantly drunk that most people are nudged away from veering into physical addiction.