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.

margery your friend isn't "dangerously close" - she has a problem.

A problem doesn't have to involve violence, vomiting, passing out, losing your job, losing your driving license. It's simply having a problem and being dependent in some way.

And it sneaks up on people. Someone saying "I enjoy a glass or two of wine after work" can find themselves with a problem at some point.

You're probably right JustGettingStarted - her health is already suffering but she makes light of it and revels in her high consumption.

I don't drink much just a glass or 2 at Christmas I don't really like the taste it's like brussel sprouts I can have it but I'd rather not. Some of my friends drink a lot and I do get left out of some social events because I don't but it kind of feels like fake fun sometimes anyway sort of isn't this a great night out let's stick a picture on social media.

I enjoy a nice glass of red wine with a meal out,or on a cosy night in when the fires lit.Or a lovely gin and tonic on a weekend in the garden.But hate,hate , the attitude of people like my SIL who sees any social event as an excuse to chuck as much prosecco down her neck as possible.Plus drinks too much at home.This after her own DS died of cancer,and although may not have been directly due to alchohol the amount of white wine she drank was certainly way beyond any recommended guidelines. What I object to most ,as experienced at Xmas ,is when I decline a top up I'm made to feel like some sort of party pooper.I don't want to get hammered and feel dreadful the next day.I like alchohol in moderation,but think some people really don't have an off button.DH has done 'dry January ' as long as I've known him,35 plus years, long before it was popular largely because at least 3 members of his family were alcoholics and he likes to prove to himself he can be sociable and manage without it.

'SIL who sees any social event as an excuse to chuck as much prosecco down her neck as possible.Plus drinks too much at home.This after her own DS died of cancer,and although may not have been directly due to alchohol the amount of white wine she drank was certainly way beyond any recommended guidelines.'

Many bereaved parents abuse substances. It's a slow form of suicide by proxy because the fallout from losing your child, watching them die by inches when you can do nothing about it, often leaves them with significant mental health problems like PTSD. Guidelines mean little when your life is so shit you have no real reason for wanting to hang around but just don't have the amount of bottle is takes to end it in one go. It's wrong of her to put you down for not drinking, though.

@expat

I think she meant sister. I also thought she meant her son had died. It would be very harsh imo to judge a bereaved parent for drinking too much prosecco at social events!

The same argument could be made for her drinking too much as a way of escaping her grief at losing her sister of course. Not that it’s a good solution, but just that I wouldn’t judge; “I hate, hate, hate her using every social event as an excuse to chug down prosecco”, or whatever the exact quote was. Doesn’t sound like concern, just judgement. I don’t like how her drinking makes me feel, not I am concerned she’s drinking too much.

“I do think it's a bit pathetic how many people clearly need alcohol in order to enjoy themselves”

This is something people frequently say but it sounds really soundbitey. I’m not sure exactly what it means?

Alcohol intoxicates you. It makes things funnier, makes you more relaxed so you might dance the night away or laugh the night away. It’s the alcohol that does that.

That’s not to say you can’t have a perfectly lovely time doing things sober- and I’ve had many sober meals where I’ve laughed until my sides hurt. But why the denial that alcohol DOES induce fun? I think it’s realy obvious that it does!

My Nan and Grandad let me drink occasionally growing up when I wanted to, I don't drink now. I don't like the effects and I like coke just as much or more to taste than most alcoholic drinks.

However I do agree with the glamorization of drinking all this gin and prosecco shit drives me mad. "Prosecco Princess" mugs and t-shirts prosecco pong even! And how we're all meant to drink Gin as soon as we hit a certain age it seems. They used to call gin mothers ruin now it's the gift you should buy women of a certain age?

Each to their own I suppose but I can't understand how many people get their panties in a twist about cannabis, sugar and fat when they're drinking every day.

There's really no good reason to drink

There are loads of good reasons to drink. I like the taste. I like the effects. I like the sociability. I like discovering new tastes, and pairing with food.
And in moderate amounts, certain types of alcohol are good for you. Moderate drinkers are healthier and live longer than non drinkers.

If you don't like it, that's fine. But if there were no good reasons to drink we wouldn't have been doing it as a species for a minimum of ten thousand years.

I like martinis - there are so many different mixes and flavours.
I like to pair wine with food
I like to sit watching the sun go down over a hot beach sipping a cold beer.
I like champagne to celebrate occasions.

When I drank for stress relief I drank too much so I have weaned myself off it.
Now I drink for pleasure.

Yes sorry it was a typo and I meant SIL lost her sister,not her son.And tbh she drank lots long before that.A family trait,and why DH likes to stop altogether now and then.And if I sound judgemental,well I have often felt judged for not wanting to open yet another bottle.I like my SIL a lot,but when she's had a lot to drink, like lots of people,she's not as enjoyable company,and I really hate -for her sake -seeing her slurring her words and talking a load of rubbish.Probably I'm lucky in that I find it easy to say no to alchohol-and I've had tough emotional times too ,but I find it hard to see her posting on FB about yet another fizzy Friday, cocktails and whoo hoo 'wine oclock' .

not a big drinker but enjoy it once in awhile
all you consume goes thru your liver."legal"pills are a major cause of liver disease actamenophen is one ,
www.webmd.com/hepatitis/ss/slideshow-best-and-worst-foods-for-your-liver

www.health.com/hepatitis-c/what-causes-cirrhosis-liver#06-hepatitis-liver-disease

just pointing out that alcoholisn't the only cause of liver disease and doctors seem to like to ignore this and blame everything on alcohol consumption/everything in moderation and clean your system out with water

I don't drink at all as I cant stand the stuff, but I am quite lively and social and will dance anyway.

I really don't like being out with people who normally have a drink or two when they haven't had a drink. They are so uptight and quiet.

I also don't like being out with people who then carry on drinking as they do get a bit unpredictable and boring as they stop dancing and chatting and just talk crap.

So basically I want society as a whole to have a glass or two to make them less socially awkward and then stop.

What most people would class as being a moderate drinker isn’t moderate drinking though.
Drinking a couple of large glasses of wine most if not all evenings is common and is more than moderate drinking. Most people who do that don’t think they are drinking to excess ime.
Now so people who regularly go out ans polish a bottle or 2 of wine to themselves with a meal.

*Nor do people

It's certainly true that alcohol or other mood-altering substances have been around as long as there have been humans. Actually, there has been some research done which appears to demonstrate that mammals (at least some species) also have an interest in intoxicants and will consume things that bring about an altered state as well as/instead of providing nutrients. So all this waa, waa, waa about 'normalising' the consumption of alcohol is the usual stick-up-the-arse nonsense that seems to be part of another longstanding human trait - the need to control other people's behaviour.

As to the problems of growing up with an alcoholic in the family: yes, this happens and it's awful, but not all abusive behaviour is down to alcohol, or alcohol/drug misuse. Growing up with an excess of religion is also very damaging, for example. Growing up with one or more adult family members who are bigots can do you a lot of harm (if you suspect you might be gay/if you are a daughter/if you want to socialise with people from other cultures and your parents are forever ranting about 'those' people...)

Well that’s^^ a bit of a step down from “drinking till they vomit” being normalised, which you referred to earlier. Still far too much booze of course, but more likely to only effect their own health, rather than full on binge drinking.

Alcohol intoxicates you. It makes things funnier, makes you more relaxed so you might dance the night away or laugh the night away. It’s the alcohol that does that.

I dance and laugh without booze.

TBH nights I've had where everyone's been pissed have been incredibly dull.

Binge drinking and excessive daily drinking are both problematic and both normalised.
And other things being bad for you doesn't mean alcohol isn't. No-one on this thread is arguing that growing up with bigoted parents is good for you but wtf has thy got to do with the entirely separate issue of the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption?

I don't drink every day. I'm not a huge fan of wine, I don't drink for the sake of drinking or to relieve stress, I drink because I like the taste of certain alcoholic drinks. I prefer spirits like Baileys, Disaronno and Southern Comfort and I'm way too tight to want to buy a bottle of those every week!

I'm a single parent and on my nights without DS I'll have a drink. If I have work the next day I'll only have a couple, if I don't have work I'll get a bit merry. I don't drink until I can't remember anything. If someone judged me for that then I think they're a bit of an arse to be honest. I'm a grown adult, if I want a drink I'll have a drink.

Alcoholism is a terrible disease and I feel really sorry for those who have it and people close to them.

People who binge drink every weekend because it's seen as cool - I do find this a bit sad and wasteful. I've binged a couple of times and it made me feel shit, never again.

And other things being bad for you doesn't mean alcohol isn't. No-one on this thread is arguing that growing up with bigoted parents is good for you but wtf has thy got to do with the entirely separate issue of the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption?

You’ve made this same argument a few times. Who is (repeatedly) saying that other things being bad for you means that alcohol isn’t?

'just pointing out that alcoholisn't the only cause of liver disease and doctors seem to like to ignore this and blame everything on alcohol consumption/everything in moderation and clean your system out with water'

It happens here, too. Someone posts about elevated liver enzymes and right away dozens of posts piling in with you-dirty-alcoholic-in-denial sentiment, even when the OP has come back and said they are Muslim and teetotal, or just teetotal.

Doctors, too, don't believe their patients. They're told to double any amount they're told. They don't even believe people who say they are teetotal.

It's like those midwives who lie to their patients about a CO test and tell them it's to gauge air pollution but really because they don't believe it when a patient says they don't smoke.

Why bother trusting your doctor or HCP when you know they're assuming you're a liar? Doesn't make for a good working relationship, you know?

The poster I was quoting plus other people who have used other countries worse rates of alcohol consumption to try and argue that the uk doesn't have a problem.