3 ms·

You know, most (Americans) drink little or no alcohol. The cult of alcohol is certain they cannot live without it, which is part of the problem perhaps. But mos

You know, most (Americans) drink little or no alcohol. The cult of alcohol is certain they cannot live without it, which is part of the problem perhaps. But most do live without it. And are not eating bugs.

fastball 5y ago
Source that most Americans drink little or no alcohol? Apparently in 2019, 54.9% of respondents[1] had alcohol in the last month. And I would imagine polls like this are generally under-reported, not over. [1] https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/alcohol-facts-and-statistics https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sh...
- lkbm 5y ago
  I drank alcohol in the past month. I drink about once a month. I'd assume that that counts as "little or no alcohol". Thus, if just 1/11 of those 54.9% are like me, his statement to be true.
  - mindcrime 5y ago
    I'm in the same boat. I drink, I just drink very little. I don't see any reason to think this behavior is particularly exceptional.
NickBusey 5y ago
This sounded wrong to me, so I did a simple search. This study from the NIAA of the NIH seems to suggest what you said is incorrect. https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/alcohol-facts-and-statistics https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sh... Most Americans do drink.
- mindcrime 5y ago
  Most Americans do drink. That doesn't contradict what the person you are replying to said. They said most Americans drink "little or no" alcohol, not "no alcohol". Why is it that on the Internet almost everyone seems to silently remove/ignore qualifiers like that, and treat everything as a binary dichotomy???
  - happytoexplain 5y ago
    Yeah, currently there are three people using the same data to "disprove" the parent, which is baffling to me. As I said in another reply, 45% of people had no alcohol in the past month, so "most Americans drink a little or not at all" seems plausible, or at least not disproved by this data. I understand disagreeing with that sentiment (there are plenty of rational arguments that most people drink more than "a little"), but why harm the image of one's motivation by purposefully omitting critical details from the post one is responding to?
streblo 5y ago
The NIH itself says different: * 85.6 percent of people ages 18 and older reported that they drank alcohol at some point in their lifetime * 69.5 percent reported that they drank in the past year * 54.9 percent reported that they drank in the past month https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/alcohol-facts-and-statistics https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sh...
- happytoexplain 5y ago
  While a little unclear on details, this seems to put the parent's assertion well within the realm of possibility. 45% of people had nothing to drink in the past month. It's therefore believable, barring additional data, that the majority of people drink at most a "little", as the parent put it. Are you interpreting this differently?
- mindcrime 5y ago
  54.9 percent reported that they drank in the past month Consider this: I am in the group that can say "they drank in the last month." It is also simultaneously true that I "drink little or no alcohol" (by any reasonable standard). How can that be? Well, if you took my last 12 months worth of alcohol consumption and calculated my "average drinks per month" the number would round to 0. So yes, I do drink, and by happenstance it happens that I've had a drink in the last month. But I think that easily qualifies as "little or no alcohol".
  - 988747 5y ago
    This question shouldn't be asked in January (because of all those New Years Eve celebrations) :)

fastball 5y ago

Source that most Americans drink little or no alcohol? Apparently in 2019, 54.9% of respondents[1] had alcohol in the last month. And I would imagine polls like this are generally under-reported, not over. [1] https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/alcohol-facts-and-statistics https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sh...

lkbm 5y ago
I drank alcohol in the past month. I drink about once a month. I'd assume that that counts as "little or no alcohol". Thus, if just 1/11 of those 54.9% are like me, his statement to be true.
- mindcrime 5y ago
  I'm in the same boat. I drink, I just drink very little. I don't see any reason to think this behavior is particularly exceptional.

NickBusey 5y ago

This sounded wrong to me, so I did a simple search. This study from the NIAA of the NIH seems to suggest what you said is incorrect. https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/alcohol-facts-and-statistics https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sh... Most Americans do drink.

mindcrime 5y ago
Most Americans do drink. That doesn't contradict what the person you are replying to said. They said most Americans drink "little or no" alcohol, not "no alcohol". Why is it that on the Internet almost everyone seems to silently remove/ignore qualifiers like that, and treat everything as a binary dichotomy???
- happytoexplain 5y ago
  Yeah, currently there are three people using the same data to "disprove" the parent, which is baffling to me. As I said in another reply, 45% of people had no alcohol in the past month, so "most Americans drink a little or not at all" seems plausible, or at least not disproved by this data. I understand disagreeing with that sentiment (there are plenty of rational arguments that most people drink more than "a little"), but why harm the image of one's motivation by purposefully omitting critical details from the post one is responding to?

streblo 5y ago

The NIH itself says different: * 85.6 percent of people ages 18 and older reported that they drank alcohol at some point in their lifetime * 69.5 percent reported that they drank in the past year * 54.9 percent reported that they drank in the past month https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/alcohol-facts-and-statistics https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sh...

happytoexplain 5y ago
While a little unclear on details, this seems to put the parent's assertion well within the realm of possibility. 45% of people had nothing to drink in the past month. It's therefore believable, barring additional data, that the majority of people drink at most a "little", as the parent put it. Are you interpreting this differently?
mindcrime 5y ago
54.9 percent reported that they drank in the past month Consider this: I am in the group that can say "they drank in the last month." It is also simultaneously true that I "drink little or no alcohol" (by any reasonable standard). How can that be? Well, if you took my last 12 months worth of alcohol consumption and calculated my "average drinks per month" the number would round to 0. So yes, I do drink, and by happenstance it happens that I've had a drink in the last month. But I think that easily qualifies as "little or no alcohol".
- 988747 5y ago
  This question shouldn't be asked in January (because of all those New Years Eve celebrations) :)