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As has been previously discussed on HN [0], alcohol (in moderation) can be advantageous for your social live. Given that a healthy social live is good for your

As has been previously discussed on HN [0], alcohol (in moderation) can be advantageous for your social live. Given that a healthy social live is good for your mental health which, in turn, affects your physical health, looking for only alcohol-induced problems might not give the full picture. That's not to say that alcohol isn't bad for you, it is. But it's a bit of a pick-your-poison-situation, IMO. Also, the drinking group drank >= 1 drink per day. I don't think you can take a baseline that would classify as alcoholic behaviour on most tests and still say there's no safe limit. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21884981 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21884981

bakuninsbart 6y ago
Medical reporting should give us accurate information on medical risks. But for the way I live my life, it is only one of the factors influencing my decisions. Practically, cumulative life happiness is what these kinds of personal decisions should come down to.
RcouF1uZ4gsC 6y ago
> As has been previously discussed on HN [0], alcohol (in moderation) can be advantageous for your social live. Long ago, cigarette smoking was seen as advantageous for your social life. Even now, with alcohol, a lot of the big companies are trying hard to make alcohol much less a part of business and corporate culture.
- Sebb767 6y ago
  Good point. I actually agree that our culture around alcohol is a bit unhealthy; I tried to avoid excusing this behaviour by pointing the bad sides out. That being said, given the amount of problems the reporting has [0], it probably works the wrong way around: People take away that drinking increases their disease chance by 0.004% and think everything is fine; just have a look at the other comments in this thread. [0] I'll assume the original study did not claim that there's no safe level, since I can't verify it
- Dma54rhs 6y ago
  And I'm sure it was. While disaster for my health I met many great people. Much easier for me to start a conversation when I went to the smoking corner, asked for lighter etc. Guess it still for didn't weight up the downsides but everything has both sides of the coin.
- dvfjsdhgfv 6y ago
  > Even now, with alcohol, a lot of the big companies are trying hard to make alcohol much less a part of business and corporate culture. You mean going for a drink after work, right? Because I haven't heard of many places where alcohol is a part of corporate culture. During normal business meetings it's usually a taboo to have a drink during the day - unless, say, you're in Italy/France and drink wine to accompany the meal. But in many places of the world the smell of alcohol at work can have you fired immediately.
  - Sebb767 6y ago
    > You mean going for a drink after work, right? Yes, or at least these are the effects I see. Showing up drunk for work is a no-go, but when going out with colleagues after work or on company parties, having a drink together is very common. Unfortunately, that is where a lot of networking happens; being part of the in-group by sharing a drink will often go a long way. That being said, if you're open enough to join anyway, you can probably get away with not drinking (at least that's my experience in Germany).
kumarvvr 6y ago
In that case, logically, wouldn't society be better off if socializing norms don't revolve around alcohol? I mean, perhaps walks in parks, picnics, back-yard food spreads, and what not.
- 0-_-0 6y ago
  What would you replace the "social lubricant" effect of alcohol with?
  - taylodl 6y ago
    Actual social skills. We just assume people learn them - somehow. We need to explicitly teach these skills, starting in primary school. We can also start teaching people about different personality types and how they best interact with one another. What we don't need is alcohol. Alcohol, specifically scotch & bourbon for me, is something I prefer to savor - not use for "social lubricant."
- EveYoung 6y ago
  Or you could just ignore social norms? Nowadays, every pub/bar has alcohol-free beers or cocktails.
- Juliate 6y ago
  It's not that socializing norms revolve around alcohol. It is that alcohol is one popular, amongst others, medium for socializing (because it's enjoyable, because it relaxes, etc. not for everyone, but for enough people). But, as in everything, "a bit" is good enough, excess spoils it (edit for the obvious generality that is: actually, "a bit" can be bad enough, it's not "as in everything"). The problem is more when one thing (alcohol, cigarette, coffee, etc.) is considered as being _the_ required medium (happens also at work, when informal coffee/smoking breaks become the actual decision moments and you have to abide by it or you're out).
gher-shyu3i 6y ago
> As has been previously discussed on HN [0], alcohol (in moderation) can be advantageous for your social live. That's disingenuous no? In other cultures, socialization revolves around drinking tea or coffee, substances that are not harmful to your body.

bakuninsbart 6y ago

Medical reporting should give us accurate information on medical risks. But for the way I live my life, it is only one of the factors influencing my decisions. Practically, cumulative life happiness is what these kinds of personal decisions should come down to.

RcouF1uZ4gsC 6y ago

> As has been previously discussed on HN [0], alcohol (in moderation) can be advantageous for your social live. Long ago, cigarette smoking was seen as advantageous for your social life. Even now, with alcohol, a lot of the big companies are trying hard to make alcohol much less a part of business and corporate culture.

Sebb767 6y ago
Good point. I actually agree that our culture around alcohol is a bit unhealthy; I tried to avoid excusing this behaviour by pointing the bad sides out. That being said, given the amount of problems the reporting has [0], it probably works the wrong way around: People take away that drinking increases their disease chance by 0.004% and think everything is fine; just have a look at the other comments in this thread. [0] I'll assume the original study did not claim that there's no safe level, since I can't verify it
Dma54rhs 6y ago
And I'm sure it was. While disaster for my health I met many great people. Much easier for me to start a conversation when I went to the smoking corner, asked for lighter etc. Guess it still for didn't weight up the downsides but everything has both sides of the coin.
dvfjsdhgfv 6y ago
> Even now, with alcohol, a lot of the big companies are trying hard to make alcohol much less a part of business and corporate culture. You mean going for a drink after work, right? Because I haven't heard of many places where alcohol is a part of corporate culture. During normal business meetings it's usually a taboo to have a drink during the day - unless, say, you're in Italy/France and drink wine to accompany the meal. But in many places of the world the smell of alcohol at work can have you fired immediately.
- Sebb767 6y ago
  > You mean going for a drink after work, right? Yes, or at least these are the effects I see. Showing up drunk for work is a no-go, but when going out with colleagues after work or on company parties, having a drink together is very common. Unfortunately, that is where a lot of networking happens; being part of the in-group by sharing a drink will often go a long way. That being said, if you're open enough to join anyway, you can probably get away with not drinking (at least that's my experience in Germany).

kumarvvr 6y ago

In that case, logically, wouldn't society be better off if socializing norms don't revolve around alcohol? I mean, perhaps walks in parks, picnics, back-yard food spreads, and what not.

0-_-0 6y ago
What would you replace the "social lubricant" effect of alcohol with?
- taylodl 6y ago
  Actual social skills. We just assume people learn them - somehow. We need to explicitly teach these skills, starting in primary school. We can also start teaching people about different personality types and how they best interact with one another. What we don't need is alcohol. Alcohol, specifically scotch & bourbon for me, is something I prefer to savor - not use for "social lubricant."
EveYoung 6y ago
Or you could just ignore social norms? Nowadays, every pub/bar has alcohol-free beers or cocktails.
Juliate 6y ago
It's not that socializing norms revolve around alcohol. It is that alcohol is one popular, amongst others, medium for socializing (because it's enjoyable, because it relaxes, etc. not for everyone, but for enough people). But, as in everything, "a bit" is good enough, excess spoils it (edit for the obvious generality that is: actually, "a bit" can be bad enough, it's not "as in everything"). The problem is more when one thing (alcohol, cigarette, coffee, etc.) is considered as being _the_ required medium (happens also at work, when informal coffee/smoking breaks become the actual decision moments and you have to abide by it or you're out).

gher-shyu3i 6y ago

> As has been previously discussed on HN [0], alcohol (in moderation) can be advantageous for your social live. That's disingenuous no? In other cultures, socialization revolves around drinking tea or coffee, substances that are not harmful to your body.