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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

#61

Post by OkayPhysicist »

atsushin wrote: post #14

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…

Substance use is dropping precipitously, because partying and socialization writ large are dropping. The people who party are still drinking, they're really not the ones driving these decreases.

Alcohol's primary purpose in our society is as a social lubricant. It both lowers inhibitions, and in the expectation of its doing so creates spaces with freer acceptable behavior. Cannabis doesn't currently fill that niche, because there aren't really spaces dedicated to its consumption.

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

#62

Post by zamalek »

atsushin wrote: post #14

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…

> night out at the bar is expensive now

"They" will make it cheaper. If you look at the cost of alcohol in developing countries, it can be way WAY cheaper. The profit and tax margins are currently colossal, both of which can be changed by big booze.

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

#63

Post by socalgal2 »

atsushin wrote: post #14

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…

> The shift in perception of alcohol is certainly a good sign.

Is it? That same video, in the last 2-3 mins, mentioned all the positives of alcohol and ton of possibly related fallout from social drinking going down. People being lonely and depressed instead of socializing.

If I had to choose between living an extra few years but being lonely and depressed vs living a few less years but enjoying them a bunch more I'd choose the enjoyment.

I get that *maybe* that can happen without the alcohol but it's not happening and my experience is that alcohol is a net positive at the moment, until some substitute appears.

Also, different cultures have different associations with alcohol. My opinions on alcohol changed over my life:

As a child my parents offered me a sip of wine/beer/etc and it tasted horrible so I had no interest.

As a teen I happened to get interested in a religion that said "no alcohol" and so I saw it as a bad thing.

As a 20-25 I gave up the religion but it was "designated driver" time and I was happy to be that and so alcohol had this negative "drunk drivers" association.

Around 26-30 I got in a relationship with some who liked to drink socially. I tried it, nothing tasted good and it gave me a headache so after a few months I went back to not drinking as i got nothing positive out of it.

As 30 something I moved to Japan where (1) I no longer had to drive so no worries about drunk driving (2) my friends/co-workers/classmates introduced me to izakaya culture - being with friends for 2-6 hours, drinking and snacking and talking. And sometimes going to 2nd, 3rd, or 4th outings. Now, love that experience and I wouldn't give it up for almost anything. I love being with my friends, and, as the video pointed out, the alcohol works. The experience is different than without alcohol, and in a positive way. Remove it and it's influences and I think the experience would die out. I certainly don't like the negative health effects but I'm not going to give up hanging out with friends and the drinking, for me, is a positive part of that experience.

Here's a talk about how alcohol helped civilization

https://longnow.org/talks/02022-slingerland/

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

#64

Post by mrtksn »

alcyone wrote: post #53
mrtksn wrote: post #23

Such a sad development, Young people need to drink more and socialize. No wonder the virginity rates are skyrocketing. You don't get into situations by getting stoned at home. Sure it is bad for your body but when used in moderation the benefits are much much more than that risk. What a scam the weed culture is. Maybe we should ban it again together with the social media to save the birth rates and the society in gen…

IDK if you're kidding, but I think you're right. Bar prices are a problem for sure. Beers at a bar cost $5 - $10 each, but a joint is just $2. Drinking and driving is a huge problem for people in the 'burbs and simply not worth the risk.

Why people are acting like alcohol wasn't the substance that got people laid and socialize for thousands of years? Of course I'm not kidding. Not going out and getting a few beers a few times a week is destroying the society.

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

#65

Post by OkayPhysicist »

weinzierl wrote: post #56
chiffre01 wrote: post #24

Earlier 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.

Quite to the contrary. A big part of alcohol use is group pressure. Much better for everyone if people enjoy their drugs alone.

The entire upside of alcohol use is social lubrication. Frankly, I think our society could benefit from a bit more peer pressure.

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

#66

Post by nerdjon »

WillPostForFood wrote: post #45
toomuchtodo wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I do wish that this was something talked about more, I know there have been studies supposedly showing there is not a correlation but that doesn't make any sense to me. I know there have been several times that I have been stoned enough that I would not want to drive.

Doesn't mean it should not be legal or anything, but I also don't think we should disregard it.

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

#67

Post by amanaplanacanal »

mrtksn wrote: post #48
bdcravens wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Lots of people are able to get laid and make friends without alcohol. If there is a person who can't, I think it says more about them than about alcohol.

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

#68

Post by toomuchtodo »

WillPostForFood wrote: post #45
toomuchtodo wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The Effect of Cannabis Compared With Alcohol on Driving - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1080/1055049090278693... | https://doi.org/10.1080/10550490902786934

Medical cannabis and automobile accidents: Evidence from auto insurance - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hec.4553 | https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.4553

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

#69

Post by thewebguyd »

chiffre01 wrote: post #24
atsushin wrote: post #14

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.

> being replaced with solo drug use or just solo everything.

Solo everything is definitely happening. People are getting priced out, and the third place (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place) has pretty much disappeared everywhere.

Gen Z is considered the loneliest generation, and its easy to see why. COVID messed things up too, and there's a lot of kids and young adults that have not been properly socialized.

And since you have to spend, increasingly large amounts, of money just to go out with friends, people will just stay home instead. Maybe that looks like chatting on discord while playing a game together, but increasingly its looking like solo activities.

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

#70

Post by altairprime »

thinkingtoilet wrote: post #15
coffeecoders wrote: post #13

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.

It’s a more effective misery suppressant per dollar than a drink, and is much less likely to result in humiliating or violent outbursts when overconsumed. Little surprise it’s supplanted booze, then, when fewer each year can afford the romanticism of a cocktail bar.
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