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America has a drinking problem

theatlantic.com

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Re: America has a drinking problem

#851

Post by tastyfreeze »

gambiting wrote: post #849
tastyfreeze wrote: post #829

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is simply not true. One person's success does not take away opportunity from others.

No one is attacking personal success here - it's important and should be celebrated. But the opportunities in the US are absolutely not equal, far from it.

Any person in the US can improve their lot in life. Nobody said it is easy. Success is hard work with a measure of luck. But, it is absolutely possible to go from living on the streets to living in a mansion in a lifetime. How is that not equal opportunity?

Re: America has a drinking problem

#852

Post by verst »

yoz-y wrote: post #629
verst wrote: post #565

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1 standard drink. Did you know that a US standard drink for beer is 12 ounces (a pint is 16) at 5% alcohol by volume? In the PNW Pints Are the standard size and definitely stronger than 5%. Also the German standard drink size for beer is less than 12 fluid ounces. Similar differences exist for other beverage types. These comparisons are not only difficult, but the survey takers vastly underreport their actual consump…

I though the standard beer in Europe was always 500ml.

In the Northwest of Germany the default is either 200ml or 300ml (the latter being approximately the size of a typical bottle of beer). For Pilsener a big beer is 400ml. For Hefeweizen a big beer is usually 500ml.

In the Northwest you won't find beers larger than 500ml (< 1 pint)

Re: America has a drinking problem

#853

Post by placer »

deep-root wrote: post #833
placer wrote: post #763

Since the linked article mentions Glaser’s now-discredited 2015 article which falsely claims AA is not helpful: The latest science shows that Alcoholics Anonymous is a very helpful resource for many alcoholics, and that AA increases sobriety by 7% compared to other treatments. Some references: - https://www.thecut.com/2015/03/why-alcoholics-anonymous-work... - https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2020/03/11/medical-scie…

All three links don't seem to conclusively support your comment and AA continues to be controversial for many reasons (e.g. adopting "alcoholic" as your identity). Quoting link #2: "Mostly it [the new review] looks like studies of either sending people to AA or frequent counseling, and that yields similar results to other kinds of alcohol use disorder psychotherapies. That's what their main finding is," Saitz said. "…

Earlier in the article, it states that “The review found 42% of AA participants were completely abstinent one year later, compared with 35% of participants who underwent other treatments like CBT.”

Cochrane reviews are considered the gold standard for meta-reviews. If the data, which does show AA [1] helps some alcoholics become abstinent, wasn’t scientifically sound, it wouldn’t had become part of the review.

Saitz either thinks a 7% improvement is a “similar result”, or he wasn’t familiar with the study when interviewed.

Obviously, people are free to think the science doesn’t “conclusively support” a given theory. Using this line of thinking, some people think radiocarbon dating doesn’t “conclusively support” the idea of the earth being older than 6,000 years -- but that’s hardly an evidence-based scientific line of reasoning.

[1] Since it’s not practical to use randomization to compare AA per se to non-AA recovery because of “contaminated control” issues, modern studies compare twelve-step facilitation (TSF) treatment with non-TSF treatment.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#854

Post by verst »

wink wrote: post #733
yoz-y wrote: post #715

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My idea originally comes from the fact that in eastern europe you have either a beer (500ml) or a "small beer" (330ml). Cans are 500ml and bottles vary. In france there is a pint (500ml) or a "half beer" (the usual size) which is 200-250ml. Cans are again 500ml but bottles are all over the place and mostly 330ml.

It depends a little, but in southern Germany (and parts of Austria) 500ml is absolutely the standard and small ones aren't even available in most restaurants (the more regional, the less likely). I've never lived in the north, just visited very often, and there it could be different depending on the region, setting. Some also say they feel 500ml is the default, others are more in the 330ml range.

I also want to add that 1 standard drink is something defined by the government / health authorities. This isn't the typical drink Bavarians actually drink. It is used for calculation of blood alcohol level or for medical purposes.

Seems that most beers in Bavaria probably approximately equate to 2 standard drinks, meanwhile a small Pilsener commonly found in the North is about 1 standard drink.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#855

Post by harambae »

kvgr wrote: post #647
SilverRed wrote: post #504

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The public drinking laws are not because the government thinks the average person can't be trusted. It's because the homeless population has a large drinking problem and it often results in people getting assaulted on the street. These laws let the police do something about this before it results in harm.

Does the brown paper bag magically fixes this situation?

It does if you're homeless, but keep in mind that the homeless are effectively judgement proof [0] and this technique didn't work for me as an electrical engineer (in Indiana) when I was cited.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_proof

Re: America has a drinking problem

#856

Post by sjg007 »

munificent wrote: post #810
sjg007 wrote: post #771

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The top 10% of drinkers drink more that double the drinks of the remaining 90% of drinkers.

Right, so the interesting question to ask here is, around the biology of alcohol tolerance. How much alcohol does someone have to consume tolerance level X, and in turn how much more alcohol does someone at tolerance level X need to consume to reach the same level of inebriation as before?

At some point people become chemically dependent on alcohol so it's not necessarily an issue of inebriation. There's an upper limit based on blood alcohol concentration. Within the top 10% there are probably even more extreme drinkers than the average of 71 drinks a week.

The irony here is that these folks consume 60% of all alcoholic beverages. These are the whales of the industry. Makes you want to rethink the adult drinks market.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#857

Post by boring_twenties »

jjgreen wrote: post #328
dukeyukey wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless you're British. Or Scandinavian. Or big swathes of Eastern Europe. Basically anywhere with atrocious weather.

Two Finns are in a bar. After hours of silence, one man raises his glass to the other and says, “Cheers.” The other man snaps back, “I didn’t come here for conversation.” https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2009/great-directors/aki-kaur...

I love this one but prefer the ending "Are we here to drink, or talk?"

Re: America has a drinking problem

#858

Post by watwut »

solaceb wrote: post #795
watwut wrote: post #711

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And what does the people are those institutions spend their time on, if it's not helping the other half reaching the same position as themselves? Elite universities are supposed to advance elite science - stuff like math, physics, technology, sociology, history. They also train people for work that requires such training. But, they dont create public education policy nor should they. They are not subject of public…

FWIW, I disagree with this in principle. I think institutions of higher ed should serve humanity; knowledge is beneficial to all people for the sake of knowledge itself. I am saddened that many take their intellect and direct their energy solely towards making as much money as possible. Think of all we could do if our best and brightest weren't so damn distracted with status and money

> Think of all we could do if our best and brightest weren't so damn distracted with status and money

Working at university does not bring you much money nor all that much status. And who is the best depends on your definition of the "best".

In any case "serving humanity" and "being in charge of public education, social system and economy" are massively different tasks. And the latter is currently settled through political system and activism, not through science or universities.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#859

Post by muskox2 »

mensetmanusman wrote: post #691
epicureanideal wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> mistreating their wives and children ...and husbands. Not all people who drink alcohol to excess are male.

Statistically it is far more men than women; and since this account is from an anecdotal point of view, it’s entirely possible female abuse of alcohol wasn’t witnessed.

Source on the statistics? I'm curious.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#860

Post by watwut »

CapricornNoble wrote: post #703
watwut wrote: post #614

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I would expect your desire to get laid to exceed your desire to hide inside your alcohol-infused comfort zone.... Honest question: what is his realistic chance to get laid with non-prostitute? How much money would it cost to pay sex worker? I also suspect that going around bars while not drinking looking for girl to have sex with might involve a lot of rejection and a lot of effort. > The people I hang out with (ev…

>>>Honest question: what is his realistic chance to get laid with non-prostitute? At the time, pretty high. The clubs and bars were very active, and "gaijin-hunter" Japanese women are notoriously easy. If you are halfway-attractive and at least a LITTLE charismatic, you should be able to snag a one-night stand or two, and then a girlfriend in.....6 weeks? That's assuming going out Friday/Saturday every weekend. If yo…

Thanks for answer. The prostitution sounds more expensive then I assumed (but I guess it factors in risk and periods without customers).

To the ending, your friends are kind of guys I really dont want to meet. I kind of assumed it was all about single guys having causual fun, now I feel sorry for their wifes. I honestly think better about guys that are not getting laid at the base.

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