To rant about alcohol and the way it's normalised?

[CheapSausagesAndSpam]

It's EVERYWHERE and it's poisonous. People normalise it..."Oh...wine o'clock already tra la la!"

And all that shite.

It's responsible for thousands of deaths and injuries and trauma every year and yet it's the first thing people think of when they want to celebrate something.

Get this

3 May 2017: New figures released today show that hospital admissions due to alcohol are at their highest ever levels.

The data, summarised in a release from NHS Digital, shows that alcohol-related hospital admissions in England have increased by 64% over the last decade, with an extra 430,000 people being admitted due to alcohol-related causes in 2015/16 compared with 2005/06.

This takes the total number of alcohol-related hospital admissions to over 1.1 million in 2015/16.

And this

Alcohol is linked to over 60 illnesses and diseases, including heart disease, liver disease and cancer. Figures from the local alcohol profiles for England show that admissions due to liver disease have gone up 57% over the last decade, and that the number of people diagnosed with alcohol-related cancer has increased 8%.

How is this a lovely drink? How is this something that is ok to do in front of children and even to allow children to partake of?

People on MN often say "Oh I let my 12 year old have half a glass of wine...it's a good way to introduce it!"

WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO!?

And new research points to the fact that it causes irreversable damage to stem cells, scrambling DNA and eventually causing cancers.

www.theguardian.com/science/2018/jan/03/alcohol-can-cause-irreversible-genetic-damage-to-stem-cells-says-study?CMP=fb_gu

Think about it. Society is not doing itself any favours.

But a glass of wine IS normal, mankind have drunk ales and wines for hundreds of years.

Drinking yourself to death is just the result of someone making poor choices with a normal product.

I read about people going to casualty with light bulbs up their bum, lightbulbs are normal, but should they be banned or demonised because some people don’t want to accept responsibility for their own actions?

Alcohol is normal, just as an inability to say no is for some and for them to then blame everyone around them.

There are literally millions of people who enjoy drinking safely. I love an occasional gin & tonic, glass or two of wine or a whiskey & ginger. Smoking on the other hand is never safely enjoyed, even second hand smoke is recognised as being a threat to health. I’d happily outlaw smoking, I don’t take issue with drinking being normal.

I agree with OP and PPs. The UK has a very unhealthy relationship with booze. I like a drink, but it is scary how consumption can creep up if you aren't careful.

I think that you may feel this more strongly than most (as other pp have mentioned) because your “normal” is perhaps a little different to some of ours. You do seem to know far more “problem” drinkers than average. My circle of friends usually has a good mix of those pregnant/driving/going sugar free/training for something/looking after small children so at any social gathering there are a good proportion of non drinkers (generally 50% +), with the others typically having a moderate amount of alcohol if at all. I’m pregnant so don’t drink right now but am not a huge drinker anyway. As my user name suggests, when not pregnant etc I do really enjoy a glass of something sparkly - it feels like a special treat at a party or celebration. I can perfectly well do without but as I rarely have more than a glass or two (champagne flutes or saucers, not buckets) when I do drink I hardly think my alcohol consumption is going to be a huge strain on society or the NHS! I’d be sad (but get over it) if I could never drink again. Most people I know are in the same boat so that is my “normal” - mad excessive drinking isn’t, is is genuinely seen as more normal than I think it is?

I know one really problematic drinker/alcoholic who is an older relative (think over 80) who sadly if it wasn’t alcohol would be problematic with something else - it was drugs when she was younger so banning alcohol wouldn’t do much for her.

Sorry to bust out the old saying, but you know what causes death in 100% of cases? Life. Seriously, it's poisonous, yes it is, but so much in modern life is out to kill us; should we all seal ourselves in sterile boxes at birth?

I do concede though that whilst I find "normalisation" acceptable (because, let's face it, it is culturally and historically normal to consume alcohol in this country) I find glamourisation tasteless and damaging.

I think it would be nice if everyone was relaxed, happy in their own skin, and able to enjoy themselves completely sober.

Me too - unfortunately I feel I can't. It's a tricky one as people should be free to indulge in their own vices if they want to, but I also agree that it's a symptom of a high-octane, non-stop, super mental load, always "on" culture we're in that we feel we need something to take the edge off.

I love a nice cold glass of white wine of an evening.

Pretty much everything is dangerous in excess

Even water!

Thing is I don't think there are a lot of teetotallers on mumsnet, you only have to look at the dry January threads, Brave babes battle bus, etc to see that there are lots of people on here dealing with struggles in moderating their alcohol levels. I think a lot of people in RL hide their difficulties with alcohol as its too embarrassing and shameful to admit you might have a problem. So just because you are not aware of it doesn't mean they are in the minority.

And I have yet to see any stats about sugar related stabbings, assaults or arrests. It is not comparing like for like at all. However as a pp suggested I am probably pissing in the wind trying to get people to see what's in front of their nose, but it does make me curious as to why people get so defensive if they truly feel that they and their circle of friends do not have any issues with alcohol. I don't understand why you would not want to try to reduce alcohol related crime or hospital admissions.

I read a book by Jason Vale that argues that there is no such thing as an alcoholic - everyone who drinks alcohol is dependent in some way. He illustrates how it does nothing for you whatsoever and how we are all conned by society into thinking it has benefits. He argues that showing restraint ('I only drink at weekends' and so on) is simply managing your addiction and some people are better at managing it than others ('moderate' drinking/'problem' drinking/full blown 'alcoholism'). It was quite compelling!

@littlepeas I've never thought of it in this way, but I think there is some truth in this...

I don't understand why you would not want to try to reduce alcohol related crime or hospital admissions

Really? Ok because I don't want to live in a nanny state. I'm an adult and wish to make my own informed decisions. I do not believe the rights of the many should be negated due to the actions of the few.

And for every person banging the booze drum there's someone else banging another, sugar, fat, diesel. Fags,

I wish to live in a free society where I can make my own consumption choices. I do not wish or need state intervention to control my behaviour because a small percentage of the population can not control themselves.

Drinking 🙌🙌🙌

I do think a lot of people use alcohol to self medicate either for mental health issues, or just difficult life events.

I absolutely agree.
FIL died yesterday, an alcoholic for nearly sixty years. His behaviour was always abhorrent and cruel and all of his children eventually detached to protect themselves. It makes me so sad to look back on his life as a long love affair with alcohol.

So op. Have you got any vices? Are you a healthy weight? Don't over do it on the caffeine? Exercise regularly? Eat a healthy balanced diet?

Isn't this (and the many references to fat, sugar, tobacco) just whatabouttery in a way?

It is the glamorisation that upsets me as well.
I do wonder if, in 50 years we will look back on alcohol adverts the same way we look back on smoking adverts...or even COCAINE adverts,,,today, with a WTAF were we DOING?

I disagree. I don't think there is as much of a problem as OP makes out. People are more aware. 18-25 year olds drink more lower % alcohol, or 0% than anyone else.
Most people I know make an attempt to cut down. I'm doing Dry January now. I haven't told anyone. I've done it before many times and find it relatively easy. When I do go to a party, this month, and have a glass of sparkling water, instead of a wine or a G&T, no one will comment because people I mix with, do it all the time, not just in January, or giving up for 6 weeks for lent, or because you are driving, or working the next day, or just because you don't fancy it, or just because.
because it is a non issue, in all the circles I mix in.

So, I'm not sure what he problem is.
Why would I care if you were drinking, or not? I don't.

If there were no alcohol there's no guarantee hospital admissions, diseases, crimes and death would be reduced though. It doesn't work that you can just cut out all the alcohol-related figures out of the totals, unfortunately. There's an element of human nature at play here, and a woman's/man's desire to live to excess, or self-harm, or fight, or alter their state of mind... and so on and so on. And we're an ingenious species, we'd find another way to get our kicks!

People on MN often say "Oh I let my 12 year old have half a glass of wine...it's a good way to introduce it!"

WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO!?

As away of showing that alcohol, when taken in moderation, is perfectly acceptable and a part of the fabric of modern society (in the UK, at least).

I was allowed a drink with my Sunday lunch from being around 12. It demystified the whole thing. I barely drank anything as I hit 18 and have been TT for years now.

"Oh I let my 12 year old have half a glass of wine...it's a good way to introduce it!"

So? I had small glasses of wine when I was that age. And even tiny sips when I was younger.

And I drink hardly any alcohol nowadays. (I had a small glass of champagne on NYE and a glass of mulled wine on Christmas... Which is actually a lot of alcohol by my standars...)

Teaching children and teens what a healthy relationship with alcohol looks like (that's it possible...) is imo really important.

Bluntness100

I don't drink. I used to like a glass of wine or a beer per week, no more. Always found drunks totally disgusting and hated binge drinking. Now I don't drink at all because of my migraines and alcohol being one of the triggers and this one I found relatively easy to give up. Missed having a glass of wine in a restaurant with my pasta sometimes but never so much that it would spoil the evening.
I don't smoke.
I'm not overweight, not even slightly.
I exercise regularly, run or cycle, try to make as many steps a day as possible and have a smart watch to look after my daily statistics.
I prefer spending my weekends outdoors, hiking or taking long walks in a forest.
I have one coffee a day, prefer herbal teas and water.
I prefer eating meals cooked from scratch, love fruits and veggies, don't like processed food.
Love chocolate but it has to be good quality and am willing to pay more for the quality than grab a shitty Cadbury bar just to eat something sweet. I don't eat any biscuits or else and add no sweeteners or milk into my tea or coffee.

I don't want a medal for that, just responding to your goady post.

wonder if, in 50 years we will look back on alcohol adverts the same way we look back on smoking adverts...or even COCAINE adverts,,,today, with a WTAF were we DOING?

I agree.

The OP’s diet, weight, exercise and whether they have any vices is completely irrelevant to the discussion.

(*that it's possible)

Alcohol is an extremely important part of "British" culture (in my "foreign" opinion) and also in various other countries.

Your children will one day come in contact with alcohol. And the likelihood of them being completely abstinent is... small.

Preparing them for this is imo a very good idea.

If there were no alcohol there's no guarantee hospital admissions, diseases, crimes and death would be reduced though. It doesn't work that you can just cut out all the alcohol-related figures out of the totals, unfortunately. There's an element of human nature at play here, and a woman's/man's desire to live to excess, or self-harm, or fight, or alter their state of mind... and so on and so on. And we're an ingenious species, we'd find another way to get our kicks!

This sounds sadly similar the NRA argument for no gun control in the US

I totally agree. It's shocking how many people have a problem with alcohol but don't see that they do. Even when it runs in the family and they should be alert to the signs.

Ahhhh, purity. Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?

Well not really Situp, not least because there are proven and evidenced arguments for gun controls. As there are for alcohol controls, but NOT complete prohibition.