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America has a drinking problem

theatlantic.com

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Re: America has a drinking problem

#81

Post by epicureanideal »

ksd482 wrote: post #61
rrrrrrrrrrrryan wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, as someone who has 2-3 drinks per day, I've always been more surprised by the amount of people who basically don't drink at all. In that chart it's over half of Americans. Travel a bit, any you'll quickly discover that a couple drinks in the evening is basically normal in much of the world. I'm not arguing that it's healthy (it's not), but the median American really doesn't drink much - our Puritan values r…

I just grew up hating alcohol by looking at grown ups acting stupid and mistreating their wives and children. That's why I never developed a taste for alcohol. I sometimes drink socially but that is very rare: 3-4 times a year, 1 or 2 drinks each time. That's about it.

> mistreating their wives and children

...and husbands. Not all people who drink alcohol to excess are male.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#82

Post by rdruxn »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #55
tmm wrote: post #30

I’ve never been much of a drinker, generally preferring soda, sports drinks, or sweet tea to stay hydrated. In my experience, this is unusual. My friends, relatives, etc. all exclusively drink beer when doing yard work, home improvement projects, or hobbies like working on cars. When I’m at the marina, I’m the only one not drinking beer while working on their boat. Maybe all of these people stick exclusively to water…

> However, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that the group drinking a six pack of 90-calorie light beer over the course of a day is healthier than people like me drinking a six pack of Dr. Pepper in the same timeframe. Cirrhosis on one hand, diabetes on the other. Pick your poison, I guess. Most people choose neither option. Drinking a 6-pack of beer every day and drinking a 6-pack of sugary sodas every day are not n…

Unfortunately, it isn’t outlier behavior

Re: America has a drinking problem

#83

Post by thebean11 »

rkk3 wrote: post #41
awrence wrote: post #33

“ In his 1979 history, The Alcoholic Republic, the historian W. J. Rorabaugh painstakingly calculated the stunning amount of alcohol early Americans drank on a daily basis. In 1830, when American liquor consumption hit its all-time high, the average adult was going through more than nine gallons of spirits each year.” I think I remember hearing a similar stat on the ken burns prohibition doc. I didn’t quite understan…

9 Gallon is 34 Liters, 11 drinks per Liter of Vokda/Liquor 9*11 = 374 drinks per year or 1 drink a day Its probably that Average/mean drinking amount isn't a good statistical representation when almost all the consumption is done by the top 10% of drinkers. Historical comparisons also are tricky because sizes and %'s aren't consistent to today. Beer/Cider weren't as strong and bottle's of wine were smaller than 750ml…

Where are you getting 11 drinks per liter of vodka? I'm getting twice that (1.5oz shots)

Re: America has a drinking problem

#84

Post by tw600040 »

agumonkey wrote: post #76
trts wrote: post #29

I decided to give up alcohol for a year. That was three years ago and doubt I will ever go back. Aside from having better sleep than at any other point as an adult, I truly enjoy the activities I partake in just as much, if not more, than when I still paired them with alcohol. It took about 6 months to stop feeling like I was missing out, and now I feel like everyone else is. Anxiety in general is noticeably lower (t…

> Anxiety in general is noticeably lower you were more anxious when you were drinking ? that's a first not to look naive, but there was a period of my life having a beer [0] was really the only way for me to exist outside my bedroom walls, i wasn't even tipsy.. I was just able to sit in a room without crippling dread. [0] I didn't drink, but the few times I did at parties I realized how drinking a bit was lifting me…

> you were more anxious when you were drinking ? that's a first

drinking habit increases baseline anxiety. it's not that having a drink will make you more anxious in next few hours.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#85

Post by hervature »

soperj wrote: post #51
hervature wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Ten drinks isn't that much hard liquor: it's about 450ml. That's a little more than a can (392ml). Sure, the volume isn't unfathomable. But most people drinking a Mickey (13 ounces ~ 9 drinks) would render them useless.

Not if you regularly drink much more than that.

Yes, obviously weight also plays a big role in my previous statement. But the statement is still true: given that over half the population doesn't drink daily, if they decide to drink 10 drinks, it will have drastic physical effects. For what it's worth, the modern day description of "tolerance" is merely the individual's ability to mask their inebriation. There is a big difference of not being affected by something (being tolerant) and fooling others that you are unaffected.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#88

Post by billiam »

a3n wrote: post #7

When I worked in offices (sw dev and qa, especially executives), or at survival jobs that mixed with lots of people (security guard, shelf stocking, etc), I was very often surprised at how many people I could smell alcohol on. We're all drunks. I don't drink much anymore. I never went to work drunk, but I used to drink a fair amount. Now that I'm a truck driver, it's too inconvenient for me personally to manage drink…

I was working at Salesforce when they finally got rid of the kegs and alcohol that were all over the engineering floors. IIRC Parker was subdued about it, it happened overnight, I'd guess in response to an alcohol-based HR issue. I laughed because compared to every other company I knew no one ever drank in the SFDC office and the kegerators were covered in dust. I have one drink 3-4 times a week, but never connected to work.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#89

Post by methyl »

trts wrote: post #29

I decided to give up alcohol for a year. That was three years ago and doubt I will ever go back. Aside from having better sleep than at any other point as an adult, I truly enjoy the activities I partake in just as much, if not more, than when I still paired them with alcohol. It took about 6 months to stop feeling like I was missing out, and now I feel like everyone else is. Anxiety in general is noticeably lower (t…

How much you used to drink before?

Re: America has a drinking problem

#90

Post by finiteseries »

coherentpony wrote: post #52
rrrrrrrrrrrryan wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, as someone who has 2-3 drinks per day, I've always been more surprised by the amount of people who basically don't drink at all. In that chart it's over half of Americans. Travel a bit, any you'll quickly discover that a couple drinks in the evening is basically normal in much of the world. I'm not arguing that it's healthy (it's not), but the median American really doesn't drink much - our Puritan values r…

> our Puritan values run deep. Not at all. It's expensive and very harmful. Why would I drink alcohol when I can enjoy a meal out with friends without drinking at all?

One could easily see this as deeply Puritan reasoning in comparison to e.g. a stereotypical Southern European culture where the question is rather something like

“It’s cheap, and we all live to be 80 anyways. Why wouldn’t I casually drink alcohol while I enjoy a meal out with friends?”

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