To wonder why people would never defend smoking in the same way they do drinking?

[facemaskhate]

It's completely baffling to me.

@moynomore

As addictions go it has the lowest effect on people around you socially.

I dunno. I would much rather be around my friends when they are drinking moderately (not irritatingly drunk) than when they are smoking.

Fair point but smoking wouldn’t change anything about their demeanour or perception.

You’d be safer getting in a car with someone who’d just had a cigarette than someone who’d just had a pint for example.

I don't like smoking but I would rather walk through a group of smokers than a group of drunk people.

Perhaps because we all drink but gave up fags post uni like everyone else No one complains more about cigarettes than an ex smoker!

OP, can you cite some sources and reading rather than just baldly stating truth and not truth?

How much red or processed meat and dairy do you eat, OP? Significant risks there too.

@DeusEx

OP, can you cite some sources and reading rather than just baldly stating truth and not truth?

I've already posted sources

@VeryQuaintIrene

How much red or processed meat and dairy do you eat, OP? Significant risks there too.

Very low amounts.

Why do people keep thinking they've got a gotcha

Is the assertion that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption quite recent? Perhaps people aren't going to change their attitudes overnight/not everyone heard the news?

As far as I can remember, there's been an ongoing debate about the benefits and risks of alcohol. Many people will reasonably still think red wine is good for them.

Also, there's no safe limit, but exactly how bad is a unit of alcohol? I think a PP has mentioned that many, many things are carcinogens (like burnt toast) but the risk is actually small.

Do we know the risks comparatively?

@JemimaJoy

Actually, it's a very well known, well researched and well documented fact that drinking moderately is better for your health than not drinking at all, and moderate drinkers have longer life expectancies than people who don't drink at all. (Although of course drinking heavily is worse for your health than not drinking at all). Shocked you didn't know that since you seem to have such strong views on the topic. A quick Google search is your friend.

The problem with that research is that it often doesn't take into account the amount of alcohol consumed throughout someone's lifetime. A percentage of people who don't drink at all will have stopped because they have had issues with alcohol in the past.

I can have a drink tonight then I might not have smother till Christmas as I don’t really drink. However, a smoker will smoke every day s it’s an addictive substance.

Even one cigarette is bad for your health. One drink isn't 🤷🏻‍♀️

I tend to agree.

Let's be honest...if alcohol didn't already exist and someone invented it now, it wouldn't be legal.

You're completely right OP.

The "health benefits" of wine that are often publicized don't come from the alcohol - you'd get the same antioxidants from a glass of cranberry juice, without the ethanol/alcohol which has been proven to be a carcinogen. My source for this is Cancer Research UK.

Alcohol is marketed the same way as Cigarettes were in the past. There is covered in detail in Quit Like A Woman by Holly Whitaker, the chapter is called "Is Alcohol having a "Cigarette Moment"?"

I hate these kinds of posts. It's just "I think drinking is really bad but I'm trying to phrase it like a question so I don't sound like a judgy bitch".

I think you've got a point OP. Alcohol can ruin lives because of problems it causes in families. Smoking tends to affect the person doing it more, it doesn't change their mood such as making them aggressive or scary to be around

I don’t know either OP. I used to work in pubs and arguments/fights were never caused by someone who smoked 10 Regal King Size.

I had the misfortune to live near a pub once and the anti-social behaviour there was shocking. Had to have the police out on more than one occasion - all due to alcohol (and a crap landlord who didn’t manage his premises properly).

I don’t and never have smoked and very rarely drink. I guess it’s that smoking has a more immediate impact on others, whether they want it to or not.

Heavy drinking is the most common form of drug abuse.

@Patapouf

Even one cigarette is bad for your health. One drink isn't 🤷🏻‍♀️

Don’t be silly.

One on one, like for like, one standard glass of wine has a more of an impact on your system than one cigarette does. One of either isn’t going to do much damage.

@RachelGreep87

You're completely right OP.

The "health benefits" of wine that are often publicized don't come from the alcohol - you'd get the same antioxidants from a glass of cranberry juice, without the ethanol/alcohol which has been proven to be a carcinogen. My source for this is Cancer Research UK.

Alcohol is marketed the same way as Cigarettes were in the past. There is covered in detail in Quit Like A Woman by Holly Whitaker, the chapter is called "Is Alcohol having a "Cigarette Moment"?"

Great book

@Babbly

I hate these kinds of posts. It's just "I think drinking is really bad but I'm trying to phrase it like a question so I don't sound like a judgy bitch".

I'm not the one calling someone I don't know, a birch.

Haha thanks autocorrect.

*bitch

@facemaskhate ...I didn't call you a bitch... Touchy?

@facemaskhate

"https://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-alcohol-health-benefits

None of that listicle is referenced"

Just click on sources.

American Diabetes Association: "Moderate Alcohol Consumption Lowers the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes."

Association for Psychological Science: "Moderate Doses of Alcohol Increase Social Bonding in Groups."

CDC: "Alcohol and Public Health."

Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology: "Soda and Other Beverages and the Risk of Kidney Stones."

The Fischer Center Foundation: "Moderate Drinking Can Reduce Alzheimer's Risk."

Frontiers in Psychiatry: "Exercise and alcohol consumption: what we know, what we need to know, and why it is important."

Harvard School of Public Health: "Alcohol: Balancing Risks and Benefits."

National Institutes of Health: "Alcohol and Cognition in The Elderly," "Prevalence of sexual dysfunction in male subjects with alcohol dependence," "Effects of Dietary Components on Testosterone Metabolism via UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase," "Regular moderate intake of red wine is linked to a better women's sexual health."

NHS Choices: "Benefits of Love and Sex."

Mayo Clinic: "Kidney Stones."

There's a big difference between going out for a night (or stopping in) and having one or a few pleasant drinks and smoking. If drinking were the same as smoking you'd be literally getting your drink and pouring it down everyones else throat rather than just your own ' you WILL have this gin whether you like it or not'.

I'm not saying drinking cannot be bad for your health, of course it can, I used to work in the NHS and so much of our time and resources was taken up by alcohol, but it was usually heavy drinkers. To answer your questiont his is why I defend having a drink; if I thought I was harming anyone else then I wouldn't, it's just something I enjoy in small amounts.

There is a huge difference between people you see legless in the gutter at 1am, (which I don't defend, huge waste of NHS and police time and resources) and people sitting having a civil one or two glasses.Tarring everything with the same brush is not usually a solution or valid argument.