4 ms·

Not really Christian, but puritan. Alchohol is actually a big part of Christianity. It was only the Puritans that were against it. That is probably why the Puri

by hristov 14y ago

Not really Christian, but puritan. Alchohol is actually a big part of Christianity. It was only the Puritans that were against it. That is probably why the Puritans were kicked off to America. But I suppose alchohol is just treated differently in Europe. It is considered almost like food. A beer or wine is part of your dinner, it is not something that you only drink on a special occasion or just to get drunk.

daliusd 14y ago
Lithuanian here (see charts where we are in regard to alcohol). No, it is not considered food here. We really have big problems with cheap alcohol here that you can get anywhere. In US you have various problems getting alcohol (different rules with each state but generally you can't go to any store and buy bottle of Vodka). I will simply give another link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_ra... Yes, I know correlation does not mean causation, but correlation is strong here.
DanBC 14y ago
The UK has a severe problem with alcohol. There are a variety of drinking cultures. There's the well known youth culture of daily drinking, and drinking to excess at weekends. This is drinking to get drunk. This problem drinking is encouraged by 'VDEs' (Vertical Drinking Establishments) which use tactics to get people drinking more. There is a lack of seating and tables. That fits more people in, but also you're always holding your drink. This makes you drink faster. Music is loud, so you're not talking as much, which also makes you drink more. But there's the other less known problem drinking among adult professionals who drink a couple of glasses of wine every night. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Units_of_alcohol_chart.svg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Units_of_alcohol_cha...) One 200 ml glass of wine at 11% is 2.2 units. 5 of those is 11 units, which is close to sensible limits of women. 10 of those is 22 units, which is over sensible limits for women, and close to sensible limits for men. This isn't alcohol with a meal, and it's not traditional binge drinking, but it's linked to the rise in younger people with cirrhosis.
- gordaco 14y ago
  (Full disclosure: I'm a teetotaler) Everything you described also applies to Spain. Here, it's usual to have a beer while eating (wine is less common for young people); but, usually, "drinking to get drunk" is the norm in weekends and evenings. Many people actually do it on Thursdays, even if they still have to work or have classes the following day. Here, most people wouldn't call it a problem.

by hristov 14y ago

daliusd 14y ago

Lithuanian here (see charts where we are in regard to alcohol). No, it is not considered food here. We really have big problems with cheap alcohol here that you can get anywhere. In US you have various problems getting alcohol (different rules with each state but generally you can't go to any store and buy bottle of Vodka). I will simply give another link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_ra... Yes, I know correlation does not mean causation, but correlation is strong here.

DanBC 14y ago

The UK has a severe problem with alcohol. There are a variety of drinking cultures. There's the well known youth culture of daily drinking, and drinking to excess at weekends. This is drinking to get drunk. This problem drinking is encouraged by 'VDEs' (Vertical Drinking Establishments) which use tactics to get people drinking more. There is a lack of seating and tables. That fits more people in, but also you're always holding your drink. This makes you drink faster. Music is loud, so you're not talking as much, which also makes you drink more. But there's the other less known problem drinking among adult professionals who drink a couple of glasses of wine every night. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Units_of_alcohol_chart.svg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Units_of_alcohol_cha...) One 200 ml glass of wine at 11% is 2.2 units. 5 of those is 11 units, which is close to sensible limits of women. 10 of those is 22 units, which is over sensible limits for women, and close to sensible limits for men. This isn't alcohol with a meal, and it's not traditional binge drinking, but it's linked to the rise in younger people with cirrhosis.

gordaco 14y ago
(Full disclosure: I'm a teetotaler) Everything you described also applies to Spain. Here, it's usual to have a beer while eating (wine is less common for young people); but, usually, "drinking to get drunk" is the norm in weekends and evenings. Many people actually do it on Thursdays, even if they still have to work or have classes the following day. Here, most people wouldn't call it a problem.