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U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

npr.org

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Re: U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

#91

Post by carapace »

apta wrote: post #89
carapace wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> no one dares to go after them. Prohibition doesn't count? What about all the no-smoking-in-bars etc. laws? And the warnings on the packaging? The manufacturers don't do that voluntarily. C'mon now.

With the numbers mentioned in the article, it's nowhere near sufficient to ban smoking in bars or other areas. It should be permanently banned from everywhere, and production should be ceased. Let's see them pass legislation to do that. And prohibition was later repealed when they wanted the tax money, even though it had overall health benefits to society.

I think we're more-or-less on the same side: I would love to live in a world where smoking was a thing of the past.

In re: alcohol... I would hate to give up port. There's an argument there for the artistry of the brewer/vintner, but overall alcohol consumption is pretty vile.

But you said "no one dares to go after them" which is wrong, and set off my "wait, what?" reaction.

Re: U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

#92

Post by ccsnags »

dranktoomuch wrote: post #20

Hey gang. I've been an HN member for a long time, fairly prominent Bay Area tech executive, rich in the sense of both bank accounts and family. Alcohol brought me to my knees in my late 20s / early 30s. It started out as the typical "social lubricant" to help a natural introvert be better at connecting with people and was wonderful at that - I was the life of the party. Over a decade it leaked into a "requirement" fo…

Early to late twenties for me. I struggled through AA but I found it to be too defeatist. I couldn’t get clean framing the problem the way that they do.

The turning point for me was a joke by a stand up comedian that kind of glorified being a drunk. Doug Stanhope had a line similar to “addiction is just a thing you like doing more than living your life”. I chose to live my life. I got hobbies, took classes, worked a lot and I got through the first few months by staying busy. Over time I balanced out my life schedule (also finding out I have workaholic tendencies).

Everyone’s path is different. I can’t believe mine has worked for 6 years. AA isn’t for everyone, but it works for many. It should be the default first option for people wanting out.

Re: U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

#93

Post by ethanklitz »

This is certainly an attention grabbing headline, but wouldn't 'years off life expectancy' be a better metric to report to help people make life decisions? I am sure there are studies out their collecting that data. How am I to make a moderation decision based purely on a count a people with a specific cause of death?

The vape lung disease is so concerning because it killed people in a few days or a week. Where as cigarettes would reliably shave X years off someone's life. I can easily make a decision to never use a vape at all or never from underground source.

Re: U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

#94

Post by SauciestGNU »

hn_drinking_ta wrote: post #72

Former heavy drinker here. I used to get very drunk about once a week (exclusively in social situations). I had to cut down on alcohol significantly few years ago, due to a health problem that came about unrelated to drinking. Now I get drunk maybe 2-3 times a year. I was disappointed that I didn't get any of the benefits I frequently found mentioned online. I didn't lose any weight, my skin didn't look better, my th…

For some people weed might not be it, but for me it is. A combination of coffee and a strong sativa edible for an evening outing satisfies my escapist tendencies and is quite enjoyable for me.

Re: U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

#95

Post by ThrustVectoring »

opportune wrote: post #24
kerkeslager wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's also a drug who's abuse regularly kills people other than those using it. I don't think this is unique to alcohol. Nicotine and driving seems pretty okay, but I can't think of any other deadly drugs out there which wouldn't impair your driving. EDIT: As other users have brought up, nicotine kills plenty of people other than those using it, in the form of second-hand smoke.

There are probably lots of people you drive by on your commute every day who are on prescription ADHD medicine. Maybe some on low doses of (prescribed) opioids as well, or prescription anti-anxiety like klonopin. The dose makes the poison though. There’s a reason low levels of alcohol are allowed while driving too

Studies have shown that driving skill among adults with ADHD is improved under stimulant therapy.

Re: U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

#96

Post by downerending »

atlasunshrugged wrote: post #70

A bit off topic but has anyone tried Naltrexone or the Sinclair Method? I did a bit of research on it, tried it a few times but it gave me killer headaches but it seems like a really novel/interesting way to quit outside of the usual AA approach which was always a bit culty/unscientific for my liking

If you haven't already seen it, you might search around in /r/cripplingalcoholism on reddit. Most of it is random things regarding advanced alcoholism, but there's a surprising amount of, well, sober information on things people have tried, etc. Exceedingly non-judgemental.

Re: U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

#97

Post by hn_drinking_ta »

SauciestGNU wrote: post #94
hn_drinking_ta wrote: post #72

Former heavy drinker here. I used to get very drunk about once a week (exclusively in social situations). I had to cut down on alcohol significantly few years ago, due to a health problem that came about unrelated to drinking. Now I get drunk maybe 2-3 times a year. I was disappointed that I didn't get any of the benefits I frequently found mentioned online. I didn't lose any weight, my skin didn't look better, my th…

For some people weed might not be it, but for me it is. A combination of coffee and a strong sativa edible for an evening outing satisfies my escapist tendencies and is quite enjoyable for me.

Where I live, weed isn't legal so there isn't much opportunity to reliably acquire different strains to experiment.

Maybe I just haven't come across the right kind. Thanks for the tip!

Re: U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

#98

Post by ccsnags »

elliotec wrote: post #63
dranktoomuch wrote: post #20

Hey gang. I've been an HN member for a long time, fairly prominent Bay Area tech executive, rich in the sense of both bank accounts and family. Alcohol brought me to my knees in my late 20s / early 30s. It started out as the typical "social lubricant" to help a natural introvert be better at connecting with people and was wonderful at that - I was the life of the party. Over a decade it leaked into a "requirement" fo…

When did you realize it was too much? Number of drinks? Hangovers? What was "heavily" 3/4 nights a week? What precisely was the moment you were brought to your knees as you say?

Number of drinks is not a good way, in my experience. It’s a detail that isn’t important unless you are trying to game your own standard. You will convince yourself that your arbitrary line makes you ok.

Hangovers turn into waking up drunk at some point. For me, they were a reason to drink. Withdrawal is like a hangover that lasts for weeks. The whole time, you will want a drink.

My bottom was the realization that my alcoholism was a way of checking out of my life. Once I realized that, I just had to start doing other things and dealing with the problems I tried to drown.

When you are in the pit of addiction, the first things you need are positive alternatives to drinking. It could be AA but I went a different route. I am not a meticulous scheduler, but I had a rigid schedule for the first few months. I even planned out my free time. I put myself back out into the world, and found that I loved it and the people in it.

Re: U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

#99

Post by krilly »

ccsnags wrote: post #92
dranktoomuch wrote: post #20

Hey gang. I've been an HN member for a long time, fairly prominent Bay Area tech executive, rich in the sense of both bank accounts and family. Alcohol brought me to my knees in my late 20s / early 30s. It started out as the typical "social lubricant" to help a natural introvert be better at connecting with people and was wonderful at that - I was the life of the party. Over a decade it leaked into a "requirement" fo…

Early to late twenties for me. I struggled through AA but I found it to be too defeatist. I couldn’t get clean framing the problem the way that they do. The turning point for me was a joke by a stand up comedian that kind of glorified being a drunk. Doug Stanhope had a line similar to “addiction is just a thing you like doing more than living your life”. I chose to live my life. I got hobbies, took classes, worked a…

Have you read/seen Trainspotting? That's essentially the message

Re: U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

#100

Post by joe_the_user »

Interesting, Alcohol consumption over-all has declined since the start of the 20th century with the US seemingly being alone among advanced nations in having an increase in the last 10 years.[1]

It seem logical the rise in death from alcoholism is broadly related to the "death from despair" phenomena many credit for declining US life expectancy.

[1]https://ourworldindata.org/alcohol-consumption, see chart "Alcohol consumption per capita"

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