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U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

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Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

#41

There 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.

Yeah, I have a hard time thinking this is specifically a good thing. A better relationship with drinking is not something to argue against, of course. But I find the dysfunction in so many people that take a strong stance against it rather hard to ignore, as well.

Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

#43

There 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.

if. Other drug use can be just as social as alcohol consumption.

Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

#44

There 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.

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.

Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

#45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

shh, you are going to upset people that think drinking is evil and cutting it has no draw backs

No deaths have ever been reported from an overdose on Marijuana [1], and about 10k people a year die from DUI deaths in the US [2]. There is no safe level of alcohol consumption [3] [4]. There is strong evidence alcohol use leads to cancer [5]. [1] https://www.dea.gov/factsheets/marijuana [2] https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving [3] https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-of-... [4] http…

So what's the safe level of driving on Marijuana? If people just switch from one drug to another that's no improvement.

Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

#46

Found myself cutting back, too. I drink beer and usually have 1-2 at a time - any more and the flavors just get muddled. It's water, tea, coffee for me most of the time (added benefit of polyphenols, antioxidants for those brewed drinks). If I drank more, I would be too worried about handicapping my intellect.

I love tea, but because of the caffeine I think of it as a morning/afternoon enjoyment. It'd be lovely to have more evening refreshments. I have various mixers for seltzer water, which helps. Also just drinking less liquids at night probably helps some with sleeping in general but I really like having something to sip on.

I love drinking Rooibos at night as a replacement for tea, highly recommend. Various flavored options available too.

Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

#47

Meanwhile daily or near-daily marijuana use has increased by 269% from 2008 to 2022.[1] [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/611714/marijuana-use-dur...

I wonder how much of that is honesty in reporting? No doubt the wave of legalization has increase usage massively, but I sure as shit wouldn't have told a random poll in the 2010s about my illegal marijuana use. I didn't even tell my doctor for fear of it ending up in a chart somewhere.

No doubt it is not a 100% accurate poll. But hard to think it hasn't gone up? If only from the legal sales numbers.

More, you'd be surprised at how many people would have told pollsters, even in 2010s, that they were doing things like this.

Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

#48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

super bad faith that this is downvoted without comments

Especially when you consider this user's profile: "Sometimes I will say things I don't actually believe so we can have a more lively debate."

I do actually believe that weed replacing alcohol as drug of choice is destroying the social fabric of the society.

What's so controversial about it? What is the last time when a joint got someone laid or made friends?

Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

#49

I like booze and I think social drinking is good for society.

It's good to have 3rd places to meet folks and bars can offer low/no alc. options to broaden their base in light of these changing habits. Locally, I'm seeing Yemeni coffee places open up where people go to hang out - helps that they're often open to midnight.

Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

#50
Nightlife 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.
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