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U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

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Re: U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

#21

Post by opportune »

randlet wrote: post #7

Alcohol is really weird. It's unquestionably a pretty hard drug and yet it's (ab)use is completely normalized in our culture. It's also a drug who's abuse regularly kills people other than those using it.

Yeah, the worst thing about alcohol is how much it affects other people compared to other drugs. Not only from drunk driving, lots of people commit assault/domestic violence/sexual/nuisance crimes as well while under the influence.

People on opioids might steal and lie to feed their addictions but I think the harm to others in the worst case is a lot less.

Re: U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

#22

Post by tyfon »

awb wrote: post #10
big_chungus wrote: post #4

Opioid issues are easy PR, which is why they get the limelight. The perception is that only junkies abuse opioids, but lots of people drink alcohol; it's "normal", unlike opioids. As someone who doesn't drink, I've personally had a difficult time for not doing so (professionally, socially, etc.) because there's very much an expectation that everyone does. It's the typical "other guy is bad" strategy, and serves as a…

> I've personally had a difficult time for not doing so (professionally, socially, etc.) It was the same for me for about 6 months, maybe a year. Then people stopped offering drinks or asking why I didn't drink and things felt normal again. I think part of it was not going in to how bad it is for you because people who drink already know. I don't get uncomfortable without a drink, but if I feel like other people are…

> I've found that most 30+ yrs old people that asked why I don't drink don't really like drinking either and feel like they won't have fun or enjoy the party as much or fit in if they don't drink, but that they don't like the bloating or hangover effects if they have more than a drink or two.

I'm about to cross 40 and I've stopped drinking completely. I don't enjoy the feeling and even after one beer I get depressed for three days following.

There are lots of comments when I'm doing something socially but I just don't care. It's not my job to make people feel good about their drug use.

Re: U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

#23

Post by ThrustVectoring »

quickthrowman wrote: post #14
kerkeslager wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's also a drug who's abuse regularly kills people other than those using it. I don't think this is unique to alcohol. Nicotine and driving seems pretty okay, but I can't think of any other deadly drugs out there which wouldn't impair your driving. EDIT: As other users have brought up, nicotine kills plenty of people other than those using it, in the form of second-hand smoke.

Cocaine, methamphetamine don’t impact your ability to drive well, but they may make you drive more impulsively. Opiates, benzos, and alcohol all affect technical driving skills in a negative way. I’m not opening the THC and driving can of worms.

>Cocaine, methamphetamine don’t impact your ability to drive well, but they may make you drive more impulsively.

Stimulant therapy on adults with ADHD has been shown to improve driving skill. Furthermore, ADHD is found more often in cocaine users than in the general population, likely due to self-medicating tendencies.

Re: U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

#24

Post by opportune »

kerkeslager wrote: post #9
randlet wrote: post #7

Alcohol is really weird. It's unquestionably a pretty hard drug and yet it's (ab)use is completely normalized in our culture. It's also a drug who's abuse regularly kills people other than those using it.

> It's also a drug who's abuse regularly kills people other than those using it. I don't think this is unique to alcohol. Nicotine and driving seems pretty okay, but I can't think of any other deadly drugs out there which wouldn't impair your driving. EDIT: As other users have brought up, nicotine kills plenty of people other than those using it, in the form of second-hand smoke.

There are probably lots of people you drive by on your commute every day who are on prescription ADHD medicine. Maybe some on low doses of (prescribed) opioids as well, or prescription anti-anxiety like klonopin.

The dose makes the poison though. There’s a reason low levels of alcohol are allowed while driving too

Re: U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

#25

Post by GuB-42 »

randlet wrote: post #7

Alcohol is really weird. It's unquestionably a pretty hard drug and yet it's (ab)use is completely normalized in our culture. It's also a drug who's abuse regularly kills people other than those using it.

The thing about alcohol is that it is so easily available and useful for many reasons unrelated to getting drunk that many culture has some relationship to it.

There is also no easy way to prevent access to it. Anything with sugar can become alcohol, including staple foods.

For other drugs, you need to have access to some specific plants, or grow them specifically for that reason. Chemicals are even harder to get by, you need both precursors and technical skills.

If alcohol was some exotic substance, it would definitely be banned.

Re: U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

#27

Post by WhompingWindows »

dranktoomuch wrote: post #20

Hey gang. I've been an HN member for a long time, fairly prominent Bay Area tech executive, rich in the sense of both bank accounts and family. Alcohol brought me to my knees in my late 20s / early 30s. It started out as the typical "social lubricant" to help a natural introvert be better at connecting with people and was wonderful at that - I was the life of the party. Over a decade it leaked into a "requirement" fo…

How religious is AA?

Re: U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

#28

Post by WhompingWindows »

opportune wrote: post #21
randlet wrote: post #7

Alcohol is really weird. It's unquestionably a pretty hard drug and yet it's (ab)use is completely normalized in our culture. It's also a drug who's abuse regularly kills people other than those using it.

Yeah, the worst thing about alcohol is how much it affects other people compared to other drugs. Not only from drunk driving, lots of people commit assault/domestic violence/sexual/nuisance crimes as well while under the influence. People on opioids might steal and lie to feed their addictions but I think the harm to others in the worst case is a lot less.

Ethanol removes inhibitions, therefore people make bad decisions and they lose their filters which prevents their immoral impulses from rising to fruition. This is why someone being a "mean drunk" is a very bad sign...it's surfacing what is below the surface. If someone is a silly/happy drunk, it's a much more benign sign.

Re: U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

#29

Post by elliotec »

wjossey wrote: post #5

My father died in July of 2015 from alcohol, at the very young age of 60. He drank daily, and then slowly stopped moving due to other health issues related to back pain. After refusing rehab and other options, he eventually died at his home one evening. His drinking buddy was my step-mother, who followed an identical trajectory. Less than four years later, she died in the same spot of the house, in her late 50s. The…

What legal recourse were you looking for? What court battle would you have gotten into around this?

Re: U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

#30

Post by pstuart »

wjossey wrote: post #5

My father died in July of 2015 from alcohol, at the very young age of 60. He drank daily, and then slowly stopped moving due to other health issues related to back pain. After refusing rehab and other options, he eventually died at his home one evening. His drinking buddy was my step-mother, who followed an identical trajectory. Less than four years later, she died in the same spot of the house, in her late 50s. The…

I'm so sorry. I've been there too and that powerlessness is devastating.

It seems like the pendulum swung too far in the opposite direction from how we treated mental illness in the previous century (aggressively locking people up in institutions).

It would be a huge benefit to society if we could find a (relatively safe from abuse) mechanism to treat people who are "functional" yet too mentally ill to stop their self-destructive behaviors. I'm not sure how that would/could work, but it's a worthwhile goal.

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