This is also what surprises me: No hangover and no liver damage are great, but doesn't say anything about physiological or psychological addiction. Especially s

This is also what surprises me: No hangover and no liver damage are great, but doesn't say anything about physiological or psychological addiction. Especially since the lack of any short-term negative feedback loop (alcohol poisoning, vomiting, or at least a hangover) makes forming problematic consumption patterns much more likely. OTOH, "one a day for a week" is very unspecific: Is that the equivalent of drinking a six-pack or two every day, alone; or gathering with friends to taste a literal sip (e.g. 5ml) of spirit? Do they act equally (not only in strength but also in decay and other factors - maybe the medicament has a booster or some chemical delay). Is there a selection bias among people who (self-)medicate, do they have traits or common environmental factors that make negative outcomes more likely? I don't want to overly defend this, since in my usual peer-group bringing that stuff to a gathering would feel a lot like "let's do drugs together!" (only few gatherings involve drinking any amount of alcohol) and I personally don't want to figure out empirically that instead of a hangover this triggers even a light depression (or worse) - but the comparison still seems a bit simplistic to me.