Alcohol consumption

No, I haven't been imbibing this evening. But I am curious about people's attitudes around alcohol.

Everyone seems to have their own definition of what is reasonable use, and what is overuse. But people seem to have a hard time stating exactly how much is too much and how often is too often.

And I get the impression there's a big difference between Europe's attitude towards alcohol use and America's attitude, but it'd be hard to say what that is.

So what's your thoughts on it? Please respond with your opinion, as well as your age and your rough location.

For the record, please, if you're not of legal age, do not jeopradize yourself or the board by relating any first hand experience. Please keep your responses in the hypothetical.

Oops, could somebody please move this to the Backroom?

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Originally Posted by Don Corleone

Oops, could somebody please move this to the Backroom?

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Done :bow:

People have different tolerances towards alcohol. Each one is different.

For me, a bottle of wine does the soul good in the late night. As does a six pack of corona over the poker table. Aside from that, I'm not much of a party drinker or into pong or anything like that.

I find the alcohol laws in Germany to be fairly reasonable on a general basis.

One thing I have noticed, is that bad drunks ALWAYS want to drink to excess. It's strange because, some people are happy drunks, and they'll just sorta drink a little, or drink a lot, just depends. Bad drunks though, the kind who get really mean and surly, they ALWAYS make sure to drink enough to get to the point that they're mean and surly. I never understood that, if alchol makes you mean and angry, why would you always want to drink a lot of it?

See, in America, alcohol is a very touchy thing. I think we tend to be much too interested in each other's business. Have more than 1 glass of wine or 1 beer at a business function, even a cocktail party, and there are people looking down their noses at you. And there are a lot of people, from all sides of the spectrum, that honestly believe even one drink is one too many. I seriously think that there's about 1/3 of the population that would bring back prohibitition if they could.

A little alcohol once in a while is good, but severing your brain cells often isn't the best idea.

And American parties go too far....not that I have any experience :juggle2:

It's not how much you drink, it's how well you handle yourself. Alcohol doesn't make you act like a jackass; it just makes some people think it's ok to act like one.

Reasonable use depends on how much other people are drinking. But can be anywhere between 3 drinks and not throwing up.

I drink unhealthy amounts of alcohol. I have some nasty horror stories., you'd think this would stop me but eh whaddyagonnado. As for my attitude for it I will quote Homer Simpson

“Here's to alcohol: the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.”

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Originally Posted by Strike For The South

I drink unhealthy amounts of alcohol. I have some nasty horror stories., you'd think this would stop me but eh whaddyagonnado. As for my attitude for it I will quote Homer Simpson

“Here's to alcohol: the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.”

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I picture you as a happier drunk though. I could be wrong, just a feeling. Everyone knows some really nasty drunks, who insist on drinking too often though, don't they?

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Originally Posted by Koga No Goshi

I picture you as a happier drunk though. I could be wrong, just a feeling. Everyone knows some really nasty drunks, who insist on drinking too often though, don't they?

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Oh I am happy I just drink entirely to much and entirely to often. My family has always though of drinking lots of beer as a sign of maturity and my friends are all in college so yea I dont get much of a break.

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Originally Posted by Strike For The South

Oh I am happy I just drink entirely to much and entirely to often. My family has always though of drinking lots of beer as a sign of maturity and my friends are all in college so yea I dont get much of a break.

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Alcohol was easily the #1 thing I saw as the reason people had to withdraw from college or got bumped out of their major or scholarship. Just be careful. Frats on my campus were infamous for "expecting you to take as much as you've ever drunk in one night, and drink that much everynight." That was the phrase everyone used anyway.

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Originally Posted by Koga No Goshi

Alcohol was easily the #1 thing I saw as the reason people had to withdraw from college or got bumped out of their major or scholarship. Just be careful. Frats on my campus were infamous for "expecting you to take as much as you've ever drunk in one night, and drink that much everynight." That was the phrase everyone used anyway.

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eh Im fine. Being as big as I am and how often I drink, I have built up a good tolerance (I know my limits and listen to my body Im just saying) So those cute little frat boys can challenge me all they want but I guarantee I will be the one standing. TBH though I can still have fun with out alcohol and I have allot of fun with it. My grades are good so I see no reason to change my habits. Have I made some DUMB decisions hell yes but I mean sometimes you gotta jump.

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Originally Posted by Sasaki Kojiro

It's not how much you drink, it's how well you handle yourself.

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Can I get an amen? I know people who turn into blithering fools after just a few beers, and I know guys who can handle a heavy load of liquor and be just as charming and fun as ever. It's very idiosyncratic.

Personally, I gave up alcohol when my wife was preggers, which happened twice, which means I spent an aggregate eighteen months not drinking. I've stayed off since then. This means that two beers is enough to send me flying these days, since my poor liver is all pink and fluffy and under-utilized. Makes me a cheap date, which is cool.

I've allowed my five-year-old to taste my wine at dinner. I'm with the Euros on the idea that allowing kids to have moderate alcohol with dinner every now and then will prevent them from going gonzo on booze when they hit their first high school/college party. I'm very much in favor of short-circuiting the forbidden fruit, if you don't mind a mixed metaphor.

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Originally Posted by Lemur

Can I get an amen? I know people who turn into blithering fools after just a few beers, and I know guys who can handle a heavy load of liquor and be just as charming and fun as ever. It's very idiosyncratic.

Personally, I gave up alcohol when my wife was preggers, which happened twice, which means I spent an aggregate eighteen months not drinking. I've stayed off since then. This means that two beers is enough to send me flying these days, since my poor liver is all pink and fluffy and under-utilized. Makes me a cheap date, which is cool.

I've allowed my five-year-old to taste my wine at dinner. I'm with the Euros on the idea that allowing kids to have moderate alcohol with dinner every now and then will prevent them from going gonzo on booze when they hit their first high school/college party. I'm very much in favor of short-circuiting the forbidden fruit, if you don't mind a mixed metaphor.

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Wait, you have wine at dinner? I thought you said you weren't having alcohol?:inquisitive:

Can't stand parties; I do not touch alcohol as doing that seems rather pointless to me (is it the social norms and expectations that sit so tight that one need alcohol to free oneself?).

I would certainly not be jeopardising anything if told that I'd been drinking under age as that is anything but a hush-hush in Norway; in fact it's rather normal. But normality does not interest me. :smash:

I´m straight edge personally so I don´t touch any alcohol or other drugs...but I don´t any problem with people who do...as long as they are responsible about it.....

Most of my friends drink, but I don´t know anyone who is a "mean drunk"....most of them get silly and happy....I guess if it was otherwise they wouldn´t be my friends.

drugs and alcohol are never an excuse for acting like an asshole.

I don't drink too often and usually not much and then again sometimes I may drink a bit too much, it all depends. but I always keep my head together enough to behave myself, my puking story can be found in the drunkards thread. :sweatdrop:

If you are drunk you have had too much. I drink 1 bottle of wine a day, a bit too much really but I like wine and can handle it well.

I don't drink as much as most people my age (18... the legal age down here) in this area, but when I do I drink hard. I have several nights that are completely blanked out of my mind. I also occassionally enjoy a beer or two, but only good stuff such as Stella Artois - damn you Belgians are good!

As a side note - our Prime Minister recently declared binge drinking to be 4 middies (40 fl. oz / 1.1 litres), which is a ridiculous notion in a country with a strong drinking culture such as ours. So there's an official perspective for you (Though the PM was largely ridiculed for this statement).

CountArach - the PM's a complete nonce. Binge drinking is when the whites of your eyes are red, you can't speak straight or stand straight, you're no longer yourself. You are no longer human. This can't be measured by how much a person drinks as it differs from person to person. And i should know, my many night shifts have exposed me to these kinds of people.

As for me, my alcohol consumption consists of drinking whenever i have it. So if i find a bottle of vodka under my bed at 9am, no one's home and i'm not doing anything for the rest of the day, i'll crack it open and enjoy. If i'm out for the night, well, for me going out is one of those special things that happen every few weeks, so it's an excuse to just drink heavily, usually a whole load of whisky, followed by jugs and jugs of ale. But i handle myself well.

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Originally Posted by makaikhaan

Wait, you have wine at dinner? I thought you said you weren't having alcohol?:inquisitive:

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Only when we have dinner parties. I probably should have been clear about that ...

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Originally Posted by Mikeus Caesar

CountArach - the PM's a complete nonce. Binge drinking is when the whites of your eyes are red, you can't speak straight or stand straight, you're no longer yourself. You are no longer human. This can't be measured by how much a person drinks as it differs from person to person. And i should know, my many night shifts have exposed me to these kinds of people.

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That a problem in Australia as well huh, I was really shocked last time I was in London how incredibly drunk people get, even the women, maybe a major generalisition but binge drinking and drugs abuse appears be a major problem exclusively of the english speaking world.

Here in Poland alcohol is tolerated but not always. If you are on business meeting drinking too much is bad. But with friends its tolerated. Too much - depends who drink. Some people can drink only 1/4 l of vodka, some can drink 1 l.

I probably drink more than I should, but I know when to do it and in what quantities given the situation. I went through an intense 4 year training regimen that taught me how to act when consuming alcohol, and how to know when to stop. :yes:

The historic puritanism in the US has hurt us regarding alcohol and culture. A more European take on the situation would do us some good.

I like to drink. :beam:

I like to get to the point where you first notice you’re a little buzzy, maybe you look across the room quickly at a friends suggestion (check out the babe at the door) and notice the slightest spinning in your head. That is the sweet spot to me. With a little restraint I can stay that way for hours.

I am not a big beer drinker, although I do have one from time to time I would rather have a mixed drink. Red Bull and vodka is my favorite but I like 7&7, gin and tonic, and a good margarita (on the rocks with salt) is always fun. I have always found the allure of a martini to be interesting but can’t really get into it.

I also find the plethora of new flavors of hooch interesting, like the flavored vodkas, lime beers, spiked lemonades, etc. when something new comes out (that doesn’t sound horrible) I usually give it try.

In my younger days I would party too hard and usually end up feeling sick or getting sick. Not that it isn’t a little fun to have a good story the next day but it is always better to have a story that started with a few drinks and ended with company for breakfast (if you know what I mean :eyebrows: ) than a story that started with a bunch of drinks and ended with a puke stain on my shirt.

Now that I am a little older I have learned how my body reacts to the drink and I can have a good time without getting stupid.

My work doesn’t mind if I have a couple of drinks with a customer at dinner and my family and friends don’t mind some social drinking but nobody likes to have someone in the group get “drunk” and either become a drag on the fun by needing to be taken care of or becoming a belligerent jerk. Most people I hang with drink and are ok with drinking as long as it doesn’t go too far. ~:cheers:

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Originally Posted by Fragony

That a problem in Australia as well huh, I was really shocked last time I was in London how incredibly drunk people get, even the women, maybe a major generalisition but binge drinking and drugs abuse appears be a major problem exclusively of the english speaking world.

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You should visit Northern Ireland. In Belfast the city is busier at 2am on a saturday than at 2pm.

We have the highest per person comsumption of alcohol than anyone else but we also have the most teetotallers in Europe :inquisitive:

I usually drink quite a bit when I go out but I'm a big guy and I have a high tolerance to it and I usually stop before the memory of the night gets affected, not that I get completely off my face either.

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Originally Posted by Fragony

That a problem in Australia as well huh, I was really shocked last time I was in London how incredibly drunk people get, even the women, maybe a major generalisition but binge drinking and drugs abuse appears be a major problem exclusively of the English speaking world.

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I saw a special recently on youth and Binge drinking in Switzerland, I can't remember where, but here's a similar story:

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/front/Dr...22689000&ty=st


I think the real key is moderation. Growing up in New Orleans, I can tell you that Americans like to drink far more than they let on to their neighbors. It's just that some of "us" would rather be micturating in some strangers yard.


By the way, thanks for turning a catholic holiday into a fraternity holiday. Maybe if the rest of the U.S. would have a reasonable expectation of alcohol consumption, it would be better for all of us. That way "your" mothers and sisters, and hey father and brothers too (not yours in particular), wouldn't end up showing their private parts to strangers and occasionally returning home with some nice STDS.


That being said, sometimes a bender can cleanse the human soul far purer than any other fasting would do.

My rule is that as long as I'm social drinker, I'm okay. It's not about how much, it's about when I drink it. I'll start to worry if I start to drink on my own. Just to clarify, I don't count couple of beers a day, or several glass of wine in the afternoon/for dinner, or even a shot or two as drinking. That's ok. By drinking alone I mean when I open a bottle of hard stuff and start pouring.

So, I usually drink a lot on weekends when I go out or on some social occasions (especially on a slava), and very rarely during the week.