Did anybody see the Panaroma about binge drinking last night?

[Orangelight23]

Real eye opener for me. Women in their 30s being diagnosed with liver disease. I must admit I have myself been drawn into wine culture and drinking wine to relax.

It's made me have a real think about my alcohol intake to be honest.

🤣

Some people love a good worry.

Everything in smaller amounts or moderation.

Everything in smaller amounts or moderation.

Well yes...that's precisely what the programme is about, people have lost sight of what 'moderation' is though.

Younger people in France are drinking more beer than wine.

I barely drink anymore - I didn't stop for health reasons, but because I always felt tired and sluggish the next day and I just found it wasn't worth it anymore.

But my mental health improved drastically afterwards - I sleep better, my skin is better, I have more energy and I eat better too. I never realised how bad alcohol made me feel until I stopped it.

However when I've said that on here in the past, I've been called a whole range of things from boring, to uptight, to dull, to antisocial - alcohol is so ingrained in our culture as being a normal way to relax or socialise that (IMO) it's hardly surprising that so many people suffer from ill-health as they get older. I also think that if alcohol was invented now, there's no way it would ever be legalised - it's basically poison, though again, that's not a popular view here.

I also wonder how many people saying they're "healthy" and have nothing wrong actually know that for sure? Early stage liver disease doesn't have any symptoms and I very much doubt that most people in the UK see a doctor regularly for things like blood tests or kidney function tests.

But hold on, this OP is exactly about binge drinkng which is the opposite of moderation!
Many many people have no clue what moderation is when it comes to alcohol in the UK and way underestimate how much they drink.
We have such a big drinking culture that pretty much no one can wants to hear it and not drinking is almost ‘taboo’

Gen Z not being big drinkers would be news to DD (19) at university.

The half a bottle of wine a night is common, and it is far too much.

Yes I watched it.

i had a drink problem and now over 3 years sober

its scary how it’s been marketed to draw in young women and get and keep them hooked

Exactly! I was being sarcastic btw. Not that I think liver disease is a laugh at all and I totally get the point of the post and respect it… it’s just - I cannot take anymore ‘if you wake up at 3am you’re going to die 20 years early! If you take vitamins your kidneys are going to explode in your face, if you get sunlight you’re going to get skin cancer, if you don’t get sunlight you’re going to get an auto immune disorder, if you use sunscreen it’s going to leech into your brain- ffs pass the vodka!

I don't think I've said one or the other!

I find cutting it out completely makes no difference whatsoever in weight, health, sleep, or anything else from the genuinely moderate amount I generally drink, apart from that I enjoy myself slightly less because I don't get to enjoy the odd drink.

Same with caffeine.

On the other hand, drinking as much as I would on holiday or over Christmas - what some people are reporting doing every week on here and are describing as moderate - definitely has a deleterious effect which is why I only manage it infrequently.

The denial is strong when it comes to drink culture in the UK.

Alcohol is implicated in so many cancers; it is quite scary.

People are free of course to drink however much they want, despite the warnings and evidence.

Just marking the irony of the ad placements on this thread.

I wonder why booze advertising is still allowed when tobacco ads aren't, given all the cancer links.

Each their own, of course. I just know I feel so much better since stopping, and I was never a big drinker in the first place.

I totally agree. Cutting out alcohol totally always has zero affect on me. I assume those who notice the impact were drinking a lot more than I do.

I've had a look at the drinkaware site - some useful info on there. I am surprised by their research on the number of people who are not aware of the low risk drinking advice and guidelines. I wonder whether there's a cohort there of people who probably do know (or have an inkling) but don't want to confront it.

It's not a site I've used before as I know how much I drink - I enjoy a couple of glasses on a Friday and Saturday night, at home. But I buy the same type and brand of wine every week, and the entire bottle comes in at almost 8 units. I don't drink alcohol other than that.

They stay in! That's the problem... It's not at all difficult to get through half a bottle each 5+ times a week with your other half. Until recently that was us. Now we have limited it to weekends only and I'm sure we are still drinking at least 1.5 bottles a week each Friday night to Sunday lunchtime.

Totally agree, you see it everyday on here. Posters falling over themselves to say how normal it is to drink half a bottle a night and how they feel fine the next day, so it can't be too bad etc.

I totally get why as well - it's totally normalised in the UK, it tastes good and it generally relaxes you and makes you feel nice - it's so easy to see how people get addicted to it.

The point they are trying to make is that heavy drinkers are often confused about how much they are drinking and obfuscate matters by thinking that social drinking or drinking “what everyone does” is safe. If you want to find out what you should consider a safe drinking style is for you then go online and input relevant details lije family history, height, weight, age, gender and amount consumed. You will quickly find out whether you are endangering your health.

There is much more evidence for the risks of alcohol to health though than most of the examples you are mocking.

And it’s not just, oh I might live a few years less. It’s about pain and suffering. For example the risk of mouth and throat cancer increases with drinking. They are pretty unpleasant cancers to have and treat.

It’s not about having many fun years drinking and then dying peacefully with a smile. It’s potentially increasing your risk of some pretty nasty illnesses and treatments.

Two glasses of wine once a week is not likely to have 'serious' effects on your health. This is simply being melodramatic! It might not have a positive effect on you, and it might have slight negative effects, but 'serious' effects- come on?

It's a limit of 14 units for women isn't it? For a long time I reckoned I drank that as I couldn't work out what the alcohol % was in wine in a bar. I calculated 1 unit per 100mls and tried to stick to that.

As I've got older I just cant drink but it's amazing how much a couple of glasses of wine and a short on a Sat night tots up to.

https://alcoholchange.org.uk/alcohol-facts/fact-sheets/drinking-trends-in-the-uk

Most of the alcohol sold in the UK is bought by people who drink heavily. Indeed, the very heaviest drinkers – who make just 4% of the population - consume around 30% of all the alcohol sold in the UK. It has recently been estimated that about a quarter of the profits made by the alcohol industry arise from these very heavy drinkers.

...
people aged 55-64 are more likely than anyone else to drink at higher risk levels, and are least likely not to drink at all. It may be that a generation who drank heavily in the 1990s and 2000s is bringing those habits into middle age, with potentially serious consequences for their long-term health.

I thought most surveys were finding young uni students tend to drink less and less than previous generation.

I suspect they need to find and target that 4% and the over 50s as they age - who possible don't see themselves as heavy drinkers.

IL in their 70s never did - though they have cut back with medication and closure of so many of their local pubs and increasing range of non alcoholic options but despite their heavy drinking they have health - so same as with smoking element of luck and genetics as well.

Meh - I think whats coming for you is coming for you…this year I’ve been to the funerals of three people in their late 40’s. Two from heart attacks, one late diagnosed cancer that had spread everywhere. All moderate drinking, non smokers with reasonable fitness levels.
And then last month a funeral of a chap in his early 90’s who drank like a fish and smoked at least two packets a day and had kept up a highly stressful career until his very late 70’s.

Obviously booze isnt good for you, but hell, you just don’t know whats round the corner so do remember to enjoy yourself as you go along.