It's because GenZ is addicted to nicotine and millennials are all using legal weed. We've just replaced one substance with some others, rather than started abstaining.
U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds
121–130 of 216 posts
Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds
#122This is not a direct response to this article, but related to the topic of not drinking. I'm usually a follower of the latest data and such but I am highly skeptical of all the recent news about how drinking isn't safe in any quantity. The latest data can be wrong. No different than how there was a period of time where UV light was considered this evil to avoid, and now we know it's actually pretty critical to get su…
I hope you are right, but honestly I think alcohol is negative for your health in any quantity. I think there are indirect benefits, like socialization, bonding, etc. But it really is a poison that your body has to metabolize. It majorly disrupts your sleep which causes all sorts of health issues. Your body needs sunlight, but it doesn't need alcohol. I drank two beers a night for years, and I wish I hadn't. I still…
To be fair I've also cut way back from where I used to be in terms of alcohol consumption, and I could be wrong. I've just seeing this pattern repeat too many times where people find out a substance has a negative effect in some area and then decide it's universally bad.
Back to my prior example, there was a time when US health science said "saturated fats are bad", I think they went even so far as to say trans fats are good. The reality is that saturated fats affect cholesterol but aren't objectively bad.
We know NOW that your body needs sunlight, but there was a time when people were all the way to the other side, sunlight avoidant and using sunscreen all the time.
I think I'm sensitive to this because of the bullshit science around salt and high blood pressure as another example. Its finally been recently debunked that salt doesn't permanently affect blood pressure, but an elderly family member of mine was told by a doctor that eating salt would increase their already high blood pressure, and it led them to being hospitalized in bad condition because they stopped eating any salts at all.
As a side comment it's interesting that you used the word 'poison'. I have been seeing that word thrown around a lot in the articles too and it seems like a stretch, like a word used to try to scare people. Technically spicy food is a poison (your body is telling you to not eat that thing), there's even literal poisons like certain sushi (blowfish) that are used to create a unique taste by eating just enough of it. I don't have a background for the technical classification of substances, but the word poison for alcohol kinda feels like calling weed a neurotoxin.
Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds
#123Nightlife customer patronage is way down post-pandemic, to the point where some very famous bars in Chicago (Twisted Spoke, Violet Hour) have shut down. To the extent nightlife drinking was a major component of US alcohol consumption, that may explain much of the drop.
I've observed the same in NYC. I experienced the nightlife in NYC shortly before the pandemic, and then again a couple of years after, and the difference was stark. The streets used to be buzzing at 3am on any given weekend. Nowadays, you'll see some people on the streets, but the city that never sleeps is, if not quite asleep, doomscrolling in bed.
Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds
#124There was a pretty good Kurzgesagt video posted earlier today on alcohol in general: https://youtu.be/aOwmt39L2IQ The shift in perception of alcohol is certainly a good sign. Even outside of the health benefits, a night out at the bar is expensive now (at least on the East Coast) and honestly speaking other drugs are simply more cost-effective. I still have the occasional cocktail when going out with friends but now…
Anecdotally it seems like alcohol is being replaced with weed or other things. But it doesn't bode well for the future of mental health if social drinking is being replaced with solo drug use or just solo everything.
When I replaced social drinking with solo drinking, I actually drank less (and at a slower pace). Without exception, every bad hangover I've had was from social drinking.
Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds
#125It's because GenZ is addicted to nicotine and millennials are all using legal weed. We've just replaced one substance with some others, rather than started abstaining.
I don’t agree. There is a definite shift around health perception
Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
Alcohol causes more brain damage than cannabis, if that's what you are talking about. And I doubt lowering inhibitions so that people have sex they wouldn't normally have had seems... Bad. On the other hand, if this was supposed to be funny, carry on!
I’m not sure I buy this, from anecdotal evidence of friends who have 1-2 drinks a day vs those who have let’s say a similar amount of weed a day… the friends who drink are vastly more functional. Arguably the friends who drink are indistinguishable from people who don’t aside from maybe some weight gain if it’s all beer. My weed friends though, you can tell they’re not doing as great, on or off weed.
Yeah weed will have another pendulum swing in 5 years.
Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds
#127We have the oldest population ever.
This should be the case.
Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds
#128The NA beers out there have become quite good. Athletic brewing timed the market really well.
Lagunitas IPNA is really good but it’s not always easy to find.
Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds
#129I recently had a cardiologist wag her finger at me and tell me that recent data pretty much demonstrates that there really isn't any healthy amount of alcohol to consume. 20 years ago, when "1 drink a day is healthiest" was all over the news, I said cheers and picked up the habit. It's kind of hard to break, considering that I really, really enjoy the flavor of alcoholic beverages. Alcohol, as a solvent, allows for f…
Reply to her that this is only true for populations, not individuals. Plenty of people who drink age well and plenty of people who don’t drink don’t age well. Statistics say something about aggregates, not individual data points
So how should physicians counsel patients, given that they have neither a megaphone large enough to address entire populations nor the prescience to discern the degree to which population applies to the individual or not?
Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
Anecdotally it seems like alcohol is being replaced with weed or other things. But it doesn't bode well for the future of mental health if social drinking is being replaced with solo drug use or just solo everything.
I think you have a point. While I drink mostly in company, and rarely if ever alone, I do consume weed mostly alone. Also, as it makes me tired, it also makes me less incline to go out and meet people. Those, and other reasons generally push me against consuming it more than few times an year.
I guess I'm odd in that I enjoy alcohol both ways.
I love a good novel paired with a whisky for an solo evening in, pints with 'da boyz at the pub, and food & winery tours with couples and friends.