Drinking to go the way of smoking

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by 2Stonedbirds

Been waiting for the shot glass lid as well.
I know people around here turn their nose up at it, because it comes in a plastic bottle and is distilled in calgary, but Alberta premium is one of the few 100% pure rye whiskeys left in the world and always rates very highly. Deeeeelicious.

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Yes, very underrated, especially for the price. Their Darkhouse is absolutely fantastic as well, if you spend a few more bucks.

Agreed that it's super underrated. I didn't like their dark horse though. I often suggest to people to buy this. It's cheap, it's reasonable and worst case scenario (that it's not your thing), it's a good mixer. I didn't like it in the past as I felt it was too sweet, but with me starting to slow on the heavy peat and smoke type spirits, maybe it'll be something I really like. I've lately been consuming more cognacs and the such.

North America is a little weird with its alcohol use. It's vilified, so people binge because they act like they don't know when they will get a change to consume it again. I think open liquor laws will go a long way. I'm ok with stronger DUI laws to pave the way for open liquor laws. Elsewhere in the world like Asia and Europe, no such attitude about alcohol. People often pace, and when people get drunk, I've found there's a bit of concern about how alcohol is to be enjoyed, not slagged in those areas.

I really don't see drinking disappearing long term. However socially, I really could see it evolve in specific ways. Some of the others have already noticed more and more people drinking less or abstaining from booze without weird social stigma. On a different note, I could see it similar to what I've noticed with coffee. More and more people are avoiding coffee and drinking tea instead. I think the future would be like that for alcohol. "Eh, I can drink whenever I want. I just don't really ever feel like I want a drink. Biggest reason being the price of alcohol as opposed to non-alcoholic drinks" sort of mentality. Smoking affects people around you a lot, which is why there's more social stigma, drinking, a lot less so to others. Kill yourself, but don't affect others who don't really have a choice.

[cral12]

This article highlights everything wrong with studies that make claims like this:

Is one drink per day really unsafe? That new alcohol study, explained. https://www.vox.com/science-and-heal...source=twitter via @voxdotcom

Excerpt:

"Over at the New York Times, Aaron Carroll did a great job of putting this risk into perspective. A 0.5 percent relative risk increase between no drinking and one-drink-a-day means four more people in 100,000 per year will experience an alcohol-related problem. Here’s Carroll:

For each set of 100,000 people who have one drink a day per year, 918 can expect to experience one of the 23 alcohol-related problems in any year. Of those who drink nothing, 914 can expect to experience a problem. ... At two drinks per day, the number experiencing a problem increased to 977. Even at five drinks per day, which most agree is too much, the vast majority of people are unaffected.

Put another way, statistician David Spiegelhalter estimated that 25,000 people would need to drink 400,000 bottles of gin to experience one extra health problem compared to non-drinkers, “which indicates a rather low level of harm in these occasional drinkers.”

[rubecube]

Cliff brought up the fact that millennials and younger generations are drinking less, but I'm wondering if that has more to do with the costs associated with drinking these days than shift in mentality. When I was 19 it was pretty easy to go out and get blasted on $20 (50 cent draft night, $1 highballs at the Back Alley, etc.). Now I'm lucky if I can get a buzz on for under $50.

[Bleeding Red]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Cliff brought up the fact that millennials and younger generations are drinking less, but I'm wondering if that has more to do with the costs associated with drinking these days than shift in mentality. When I was 19 it was pretty easy to go out and get blasted on $20 (50 cent draft night, $1 highballs at the Back Alley, etc.). Now I'm lucky if I can get a buzz on for under $50.

Buck-a-Beer in ON, Baby! (gotta keep the masses happy)

[wireframe]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Cliff brought up the fact that millennials and younger generations are drinking less, but I'm wondering if that has more to do with the costs associated with drinking these days than shift in mentality. When I was 19 it was pretty easy to go out and get blasted on $20 (50 cent draft night, $1 highballs at the Back Alley, etc.). Now I'm lucky if I can get a buzz on for under $50.

I stopped drinking about 4 years ago, when I was 26, because of cost. For me, it was never a health thing.

[CliffFletcher]

Cost is probably a part of it. Also, Millennials first engage in a lot of behaviours - drinking, sex, driving - at a later age than previous cohorts. Changing demographics also play a part. Most immigrants to Canada are from more socially conservative cultures. Their kids - especially daughters - tend to not drink at the rate that young adults of European descent do. The demographics in a campus bar on Friday night are not representative of the overall student population.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

The demographics in a campus bar on Friday night are not representative of the overall student population.

I feel like you're kinda too old to know this empirically.

[troutman]

https://www.macleans.ca/society/cana...e-says-report/

[troutman]

The Economist

[troutman]

Alcohol spending calculator

Do you know how much money you’re spending on alcohol each week, month, or year? Over time, costs can add up quickly! Use this calculator to figure out your average spending on alcohol per week, month, and year.

https://www.rethinkingdrinking.niaaa...alculator.aspx


https://www.thebalanceeveryday.com/w...-costs-4142309

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans spend about 1 percent of their gross annual income on alcohol. For the average household, that’s $565 a year, $5,650 in 10 years, or a whopping $22,600 over a 40-year period.

It’s worth noting that $565 per year breaks down to about $11 a week. In some cities that will barely buy you one cocktail, so it is very probable your spending exceeds that.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by troutman

Alcohol spending calculator

Do you know how much money you’re spending on alcohol each week, month, or year? Over time, costs can add up quickly! Use this calculator to figure out your average spending on alcohol per week, month, and year.

https://www.rethinkingdrinking.niaaa...alculator.aspx


https://www.thebalanceeveryday.com/w...-costs-4142309

Do you know how much I spend on dumbass things like Christmas and birthday decorations?



Spending $600 on booze annually is actually a good investment compared to that.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by troutman

https://www.macleans.ca/society/cana...e-says-report/

Dang it. Second place again

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Dang it. Second place again

Maybe you should stop complaining and start drinking. Only way to win!

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans spend about 1 percent of their gross annual income on alcohol. For the average household, that’s $565 a year, $5,650 in 10 years, or a whopping $22,600 over a 40-year period.

"Whopping"? A "whopping" $22,600 is the average alcohol budget for life? Is it bad that this sounds like an absolute bargain?

[troutman]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

"Whopping"? A "whopping" $22,600 is the average alcohol budget for life? Is it bad that this sounds like an absolute bargain?

I can't tell from the table if this includes alcohol purchased for home use, and alcohol purchased away from home. $11 per week is not very much if you buy drinks at bars and restaurants.

https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/con.../2015/home.htm

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by troutman

The Economist

Yes, that shows that Northern Europe is the global outlier when it comes to alcohol. How much immigration to Canada in the last 30 years has been from Northern Europe? Again, two-thirds of the people in the world don't drink at all.

[you&me]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Yes, that shows that Northern Europe is the global outlier when it comes to alcohol. How much immigration to Canada in the last 30 years has been from Northern Europe? Again, two-thirds of the people in the world don't drink at all.

"At all"?

That's not what that chart shows.

[northcrunk]

Too bad they didn't calculate the costs if you are a homebrewer. It's much cheaper than buying from the store due to no taxes.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

"Whopping"? A "whopping" $22,600 is the average alcohol budget for life? Is it bad that this sounds like an absolute bargain?

Around 30 per cent of Americans don't drink at all, and another 20 or so only drink rarely. It would be a lot more useful to look at the spending figures for people who drank at least once or twice a month.

[troutman]

Slate [2014]
http://www.slate.com/articles/health...olism_and.html