• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Do you drink alcohol?

Do you consume alcohol?

  • Total voters
    70

Allan

DP Veteran
Joined
Sep 30, 2019
Messages
54,305
Reaction score
82,335
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Liberal
Interesting trend in alcohol consumption.


18 - 34 year olds are least likely to consume alcohol. Their numbers declined 59% to 50% from 2023 to 2024



Full Gallup poll results...

U.S. Drinking Rate at New Low as Alcohol Concerns Surge

A record-low 54% of Americans say they drink alcohol, as a majority now believe moderate drinking is unhealthy.
news.gallup.com
 
Rarely.

I used to drink wine on a regular basis, now I consume wine (or any alcohol) very infrequently because I’ve found that as I get older, I tend to get a wicked hang over from even minimal alcohol consumption.

Just having 1-2 glasses of wine while out at dinner, etc will leave me with heartburn and “hangxiety” (anxiety) the next day.
 
I like a beer once in a while, and I grow spearmint in the garden. I cook and mix it to make creme de menthe. A jigger a day keeps the doctor away
 
When my kids who are now in their 40’s were young, my wife and I stopped drinking to set an example. When the kids became adults, we just never found a reason to start again.
 
I drink socially a handful of times a month, but very seldom more than 2 drinks when I do. I enjoy a nice glass of red wine, scotch, or an old fashioned, but I don't drink most days because I don't sleep as well when I drink, and alcohol is counter to my fitness goals. Drinking doesn't impact your running and cycling much, but it does impact strength gains.
 
At home couple of beers a week. If I'm eating pasta a glass of red wine.

Once in a while I like either a bourbon or single malt scotch neat at night while reading or (more rarely) a martini.

I don't like drinking when we're out so rarely more than one beer or glass wine and usually only if we're ubering.
 
longview said:
When my kids who are now in their 40’s were young, my wife and I stopped drinking to set an example. When the kids became adults, we just never found a reason to start again.
Click to expand...

I grew up in an abstaining household. My father was a young party animal who joined AA and quit drinking. I think at my mother's suggestion

I quit drinking altogether about 20 years ago and didn't touch it for about 15 or so years. Now I have an occasional glass of wine, probably a few times a month.
 
The Brad Dad said:
I think younger gens have gravitated towards pot. They're right. Booze is great but the returns are always diminishing.
Click to expand...
Most young people I know including my niece and nephew never took up alcohol.

I took them both to Ireland when they graduated and as they're both avid readers we did a literary pub tour in Dublin.

Their alcohol tolerance was so low my niece was plastered after one beer and we had to cut her off.
 
I think it also comes with a decline in the desire to be social, i.e. in bars and such, as a result of smartphones and social media. I think culturally this part is for the worse, the lack of social interaction.
 
Allan said:
Most young people I know including my niece and nephew never took up alcohol.
Click to expand...
An alcoholic is a large part of why I probably never took it up. Not my parent, but my parent's parent. I was raised with stories about waiting outside then steering from the lap on the way home from bars before they were a teenager. I was taught to drive the same way, minus the alcohol. I also smelled and saw the results myself when we visited. It was an early warning sign. Their older sibling followed suit and so they strongly moderated and I learned the same.

That and the availability and superiority of marijuana.
 
no. i need to keep a Sound Mind to work on my Prophetic stories for this forum. my deep thinking would never tolerate such activities.

i just got a warning concerning August 18.


...don't press this button please. thanks.

.
 
The Brad Dad said:
I think younger gens have gravitated towards pot.
Click to expand...
I would say it isn't such just the the younger gens any more. I consider myself among them and I'd be lying to consider myself younger generation now.

The Brad Dad said:
They're right. Booze is great but the returns are always diminishing.
Click to expand...
You mean you're right I think. Also, THC tolerance still exists. I usually quit a few months a year to let it diminish. Way easier than quitting smoking nicotine, and apparently drinking alcohol if one becomes reliant on that.
 
How many days has it been since we talked?
 
@Allan, not only do I not drink, but I have never had a drink of alcohol. When we moved from Kentucky to Illinois, we moved to a very bad place. I saw all of these people brown bagging it and decided that I would never be like them. High school was tough due to my decision since I was viewed differently from the other athletes. When I was at a party, a young lady came up to me and offered me one of those 8-oz PBRs high school kids were drinking back then. I knew if I took it and took a drink, she was going to go out with me. I just couldn't do it. All worked out well, and my wife does not drink. Finally, I have a seriously bad temper. I'd hate to see what I would have done if I had a few drinks in me.
 
The Brad Dad said:
I think it also comes with a decline in the desire to be social, i.e. in bars and such, as a result of smartphones and social media. I think culturally this part is for the worse, the lack of social interaction.
Click to expand...
I was talking to my one “niece” (technically my cousin’s daughter, but she calls me Auntie and I call her my niece) and she tells me that her and her peers just can’t stand the “meat-market” vibe at most bars. (These are young ladies that are in their senior year of college)

So they don’t go.

Personally, in remembering what bars and clubs could be like at that age, I can’t say I blame them.

From her stories, things haven’t improved - if anything, it has gotten worse over the years. Her group of friends are all good looking young ladies, but they’re also wicked smart and with high aspirations. They figure there’s nothing worthwhile at the bars - and only the potential for bad. So . Take it for what it’s worth.
 

A curious coincidence. I had surgery about ten days ago. I mentioned to the Nurse that I had picked up a couple more bottles of my preferred drink. She told me that was bad and they didn't want me drinking.

Ever since mankind discovered fermented grapes made a potent drink, alcohol has been our first pain reliever. For Centuries it was our only pain reliever. When we discovered other things, like the attributes of the Opium Poppy, we took that potency, and added it to Alcohol. It was called Tincture of Laudanum. It was essentially Heroin in Alcohol, usually Brandy.

When we reached the Teetotaler era, we started to frown on Alcohol as a medicinal remedy. We worried about the addictive properties. We stressed out over the effects to healing. When the Nurse told me it would thin the blood and possibly make the wound seep more. I said that one of the complications was a blood clot, especially for a man of my age. A blood clot breaking free could travel in my blood stream to some of those Arteries which are narrowed from decades of eating bad food. That clot could cause a stroke, or embolism, or Cardiac Arrest. If I was drinking, the odds of that particular complication were reduced. What was the bad side again?

When I was a Soldier at Fort Bragg, we joked that the AA on our Shoulder Patch stood for Alcoholics Anonymous. I personally usually carried a quart of Scotch in a Canteen when we went to the field. Jumping out of planes hurts. Best case scenario you end up with bruises and sore joints. Then you have to march for miles. We were all taking 800mg Motrin, called Paratrooper Candy, and drinking on the side.

Now I have aches and pains from my youth troubling me in my more advanced years. Among other problems I have degenerative Disk Disease and a narrowing of a couple nerve pathways to cause pain. I still have to work. No doctor is going to hand me a bunch of painkillers and tell me to be careful. Not with the Opioid Addiction lawsuits. So I have a more concentrated version of Motrin, and I have alcohol. If I get home from work aching with pain radiating down an arm or leg, I can have a drink or two and ease the pain enough to get some sleep before heading back to work to do it all over again.

Some days I drink. Some days I don't. Some days I would like to, but can't because of things that need to be done. As it was at Fort Bragg all those decades before, the question is does the drink control you, or do you control the drink. I'm not going to turn my back on an effective pain management tool just because someone else doesn't like it. I'm not going to lie about it either. I told my Doctors, as I told the Nurses, what I do. I'm not ashamed or scared of what and who I am, or what someone might think. If they don't like it, they are free to do whatever they want. That's the beauty of Live and let Live.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…