Alcohol Consumption Guidelines: Do you care?

[Manc33]

I agree with the post after mine that says binge drinking has been made normal.

One reason I stopped drinking was because I always have to get paralytic any time I have a drink. One notable occasion was going to a pub to watch Man United Vs Chelsea in the late 1990s on a Monday night. I had one pint and that was it, ended up totally wasted. Anytime I drink, thats how it ends up. Maybe I am an alcoholic or something but just, a responsible one that doesn't drink!

[Mick F]

Hi Manc,
I know exactly what you mean, and I know loadsa people like you.

I found out PDQ in my drinking career that I don't like hangovers. I also found out even as a kid, that I like a good night's sleep.
I know I love beer, and anyone who knows me knows that I love beer, but three or four is enough in a session. Sometimes I may have more, but it's rare.

Therefore, I know what you're saying, and as I said, some people have a drinking problem, and some people have a problem with drinking. You are obviously one of the latter.

[irc]

Cheap booze? What about it? Its heavily taxed already, you could tax it more like they do in Scotland. Low wages - get better educated, acquire a skill, start your own business, move, alcohol just makes things worse. Lots of folk from Eastern Europe here seeking something better, grafting away far from their families.

I met a couple of Poles on my last bothy trip. Hammering the vodka. And it isn't taxed more in Scotland. Not yet anyway. Actually the proposed SNP policy isn't a tax. It's a minimum price. So my malt whisky won't be affected. It's already more than 50p per unit. The pub on Saturday was charging £4.50 a pint. Double the proposed rate. So no change there. The guy on low wages and a zero hours contract who wants a couple of cans of lager in the house after work is the one who will be hit.

[greyingbeard]

take from the poor, give to the rich. The poor cant be bothered to vote.

[Shootist]

Why do people need to take drugs to 'enjoy themselves', 'relax', enjoy the company of others;? I'm talking here about desperately damaging drugs that destroy people's lives. Drugs like lager, whisky, rum, sherry. They're the worst street drugs of all. Next time you hear someone saying they like a drink to relax, play back to them what they have said but change the word 'drink' to 'heroin'. See how comfortably it sits.

[reohn2]

Why do people need to take drugs to 'enjoy themselves', 'relax', enjoy the company of others;?

Because they're not happy,that's the point I've been making.

I'm talking here about desperately damaging drugs that destroy people's lives. Drugs like lager, whisky, rum, sherry. They're the worst street drugs of all. Next time you hear someone saying they like a drink to relax, play back to them what they have said but change the word 'drink' to 'heroin'. See how comfortably it sits.

+1

[beardy]

play back to them what they have said but change the word 'drink' to 'heroin'.

It wouldnt sit nicely because very few people can control heroine use once they start, it is too fiercely addictive. Also the establishment will go to extreme efforts to detect and hand out extreme punishments to those using it.

On the other hand the majority of us are able to drink alcohol in moderation, without significant harm or falling foul of the law.

[SpannerGeek]

I don't suppose many people posting here realise that up until 1969 medical heroin (dimorphine) was prescribed to addicts by their doctor on the NHS. Most users were able to live normal, functioning lives (often in good jobs) without ever falling foul of the law. Like alcohol, used in moderation it was very safe and fatalities were very low. A large number of medics used it routinely as a recreational drug and still performed professional jobs with no risks to anyone. Heroin has yet again become a very popular drug amongst young professionals and is generally smoked rather than injected. I would confidently say that if any of you have children at university at least 25% of them will have used heroin recreationally as well as a large cocktail of other freely available drugs.

Alcohol, lest we forget is a strong sedative and it has quite powerful disinhibition effects which explain why it's so popular with people who aren't confident in social situations. Its a very useful and socially beneficial drug, and like heroin relatively risk free when used in moderation. Some people have addictive personality disorder and of course have problems with ANY type of drugs. Most people do not, which makes most of the current legislation quite ridiculous. The sooner we follow forward thinking European ideas about drugs and alcohol the better imo. So much needless suffering for so many could have been long time averted. It's often said that if alcohol had been discovered in the 70s it would have been made illegal immediately. As soon as you make any drug 'dangerous' or illegal in the public's eye it becomes more attractive and available. 200 million Americans in n the 1930s can testify to that.

[Shootist]

Alcohol, lest we forget is a strong sedative and it has quite powerful disinhibition effects which explain why it's so popular with people who aren't confident in social situations. Its a very useful and socially beneficial drug, and like heroin relatively risk free when used in moderation.

So, taking a mind altering drug that even in moderation distorts reality is useful and socially beneficial? And in excess it is incredibly dangerous, but anyone who has been in a front line police role will see all too well that people who consume alcohol regularly cannot moderate their drinking. The biggest single problem with alcohol is that the part of the brain that assesses how drunk you are gets drunk itself and loses the ability to accurately judge how drunk you are.

Prohibition in the USA proved beyond any doubt that banning it's consumption is a waste of time. The only answer is to educate people that if they need to distort life in order to enjoy it then they might do better altering their life instead. I would legalise all drugs but introduce truly draconian penalties for anyone found under the influence while committing any crime, or for being intoxicated in public. We are all entitled to find our own way to hell, but we have no right to make life hell for others.

[irc]

So, taking a mind altering drug that even in moderation distorts reality is useful and socially beneficial?

Useful? Perhaps not. Pleasant? Yes. Which is why we have consumed it for thousands of years. In moderation it's as damaging as a few bacon sandwiches.

And in excess it is incredibly dangerous, but anyone who has been in a front line police role will see all too well that people who consume alcohol regularly cannot moderate their drinking.

Many things are dangerous taken to excess. Most people who consume alcohol can moderate their drinking. It's a minority who cause problems and should be targeted. I was at the pub on Saturday had few pints while I watched a blues group. None of the patrons were knocking their booze back at a rate of knots or were particularly drunk when they left. Most pubs are the same. People enjoying a pint and a chat. Not getting steaming drunk.

anyone who has been in a front line police role will see all too well that SOME people who consume alcohol regularly cannot moderate their drinking.

FTFY

But I agree with tougher penalties for the minority who cause problems whilst drunk.

[NUKe]

The latest figures are ill thought out and I wonder how you can draw any conclusion. How do they account for whole life drinking ? For example me.
I start drinking around the age of 15 In my teens and 20 s I could consume 4 to 5 pints a night. the first half of my 30's I had bit of binge and drunk quite a lot. I realised it might be a problem and cut down through my 40s I have been under the current recommended limit for the last 15 years. So if question I'd say I was a moderate drinker at around 14 units and that is what my medical records would say. If I were now to fall ill. I would be a moderate drinker however my drink fuelled 20 and 30 party lifestyle may be where the damage was done. I suspect my profile is not that uncommon. That's apart from the point that most people under estimate what they drink and pasts are quietly forgotten. BTW I don't regret any of it.

[Mick F]

Why do people need to take drugs to 'enjoy themselves', 'relax', enjoy the company of others;?

There are degrees of everything. Some folk are further along the road than others.

Personally, I have an anxiety problem. Maybe a stress problem? It depends on how you define it. It's not a big problem, and is un-noticeable by folk who don't know me. Give me a pint of beer, and I'm fine. No more, just the one pint to relax me. Any more and I'll be getting too relaxed.

No doubt there's a prescribed drug that would do it too, but whatever the "drug", it'd sort me out.

Some folk have a huge problem and "need" all sorts of stuff to get their heads straight. Trouble is, it can - and usually does - become addictive. Believe me, I understand them.

[SpannerGeek]

You have to look at the bigger socio economic picture here. Revenue from smoking has been declining year on year to £9 billion, revenue from alcohol sales has risen to nearly £20 billion in 2014/15.

To compensate for the loss in tobacco revenue obviously you will have to significantly raise the duty on alcohol. A very imprudent and unpopular thing to do. But not if alcohol is suddenly 'dangerous' and bad for your health. I predict a £7 pint in the not too distant and £35 a bottle of whisky.

Think about the trajectory of tobacco which has almost doubled in price over the last five years to almost £10 a packet...

[Shootist]

You have to look at the bigger socio economic picture here. Revenue from smoking has been declining year on year to £9 billion...

An interesting figure, given that it equals the loss in tax revenue from the sale of counterfeit tobacco products.

[reohn2]

You have to look at the bigger socio economic picture here. Revenue from smoking has been declining year on year to £9 billion...

An interesting figure, given that it equals the loss in tax revenue from the sale of counterfeit tobacco products.

Which begs the question,if alcohol prices are increased significantly will it lead to an increase in people brewing their own beer and wine and distilling their own moonshine?