Why is drinking alcohol so popular?

Why the fuss about not liking alcohol. It’s no different from saying ‘I don’t like tea/coffee’. If you don’t like it, don’t drink it.

Elderlyperson, I am not that keen on alcohol for more reasons than taste but I accept other people's enjoyment of alcohol. So, why can't people who drink alcohol accept my choices. People do look at me with astonishment, often say negative things ("You're no fun; Party Pooper; Don't you like enjoying yourself?) and even worse, then spend the rest of the evening trying to persuade me to have a drink. Rather than being no fun, I am the first on the dance floor and will dance the night away whilst the drinkers will wait until they are lubricated enough to lose their inhibitions. I am unlikely to cause havoc by making an exhibition of myself or being provocative to other wive's menfolk and I am always sober enough to look after those who have had too much to drink. I never point out any bad behaviour when they sober up! I am always happy to drive people there and back. Surely I should be an asset rather than somebody who ruins their fun!
Incidentally, that last paragraph sounds like I am looking down on people who drink...nope, it is how I would behave if I was drinking. One drink and I am anybody's. Two drinks and I am everybody's.

Aepgirl

Why the fuss about not liking alcohol. It’s no different from saying ‘I don’t like tea/coffee’. If you don’t like it, don’t drink it.

Hear, hear, Aepgirl. Just so.

A nice wine goes well with good food. That's why I often have a glass with a meal.

I didn't like wine until I was in my thirties (couldn't afford it before then either) so I used to say no thanks, it's wasted on me, and I've had teetotal periods when alcoholic drinks just gave me a headache.

I socially drank in my younger days and always remember the horrible hangovers that lasted 3 days. The weekends, discos, alcohol was what my chums and I lived for and I feel it was as popular then as it is now. I was shy and felt that the alcohol helped me be more confident.
Now I'm in my mid 50s and would very rarely have a drink, give me a cuppa any day. I've friends who say when we are out the price of a soft drink in some places is similar price to a glass of wine so they have the wine and think I'm mad just happily sitting with water. My choice, but I feel they think I've turned into a bore.

Rufus2

^And that's not what happened to the other grandad at all^.
Galaxy To which "other grandad" are you referring and what did happen to him?
The Grandad who comes to my mind is "Grandad1942", apparently no longer around.
If he wasn't hounded, well, I'd like to know your version!
OoRoo

Unfair to hounds Rufus

www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwj7wcGJ2qjxAhWU5OAKHdNbAAwQyCkwAHoECAYQAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DChMj-sw8uKY&usg=AOvVaw31Y70MJY9nl41YpPipQ-2s
This is a greyhound “Rooing”
OoRoo

I don’t drink alcohol and never really have. I don’t enjoy it and 25 yrs ago became very ill after mixing wine, brandy and champagne at a celebration. I haven’t touched alcohol since. I certainly don’t need it to enjoy myself or to relax. I am the sister of an alcoholic. My sibling was very talented, successful, kind & was married with 3 children. Alcohol changed all that. I was supportive and tried everything to help. Aged 60 he died with nothing & nobody and my heart broke. It wasn’t just his own life that was affected but many people close to him including his beloved children. He was a kind, sensitive soul who originally enjoyed a social drink but preferred a nice cup of tea. I don’t know what changed, I wish I did, but I can live very happily without alcohol.

There aren’t that many drinks I like really ElderlyPerson, but I used to drink with friends when I was younger just to fit in. I only tasted white wine for the first time in my late 20s and it all tastes like vinegar, which I dislike. A very, very sweet dessert wine is the only thing I can tolerate. As for red wine - ewwww!
I’ll have a little tipple of something at Christmas, perhaps and would probably drink a toast, but these days, soft drinks get my vote!

MBHP1

Talking of alcohol did anyone know about this…
archive.is/VfUlM

Yes.

www.gransnet.com/forums/health/1297316-No-alcohol-for-women-of-child-bearing-age

It was at the headline spot in Saturday's Gransnet Daily email.

Thank you for the link.

The link has another story included in it too.

I have a liqueur after a celebration meal sometimes, purely because they taste nice - especially if in an edible chocolate bottle. I love rum in ice-cream and desserts. Quite like a mug of hot chocolate with a drop of Bailey's in the winter. That's about my lot really, not fussed about wine and beer.

The only thing I don't like is the, 'go on, one won't hurt' thing that some drinkers do, as though my having an orange juice is letting the side down somehow. Each to their own unless someone drinks so much it makes them a menace to themselves and others.

It has taken me years to be able to say 'no thanks' to a glass of anything alcoholic' It comes down to the fact that I just don't like the taste of any of it. If I had to choose one it would be a sickly sweet liqueur so it's the sugar I am craving not the alcohol!
Yes I've drank a fair bit in my time, to jin in and be sociable but never liked the actual taste. The effect is fine after a glass or two then the hangover sets in. While others are laughing and joking I have a headache and feel miserable. So I've stopped
I have seen too many loved ones and friends fall into alcoholism and even those who seem to be 'alcohol dependent' can get belligerent, boorish and snappy after too many so I don't look forward to their 'fun nights'.
As we get older it is easier to be yourself, not care about what others do. We can make out own minds up about how we want to enjoy ourselves

Elderly person,
What do you do to have fun? Do you have any friends? Are you a fun type person? Do you laugh a lot? Do you go out and about much?
Just wondering?

Interestedly enough I have not drunk alcohol for many years and I find even to this day anyone that questions me intently about why I don’t drink may well have a problem themselves.
I have drunk alcohol in fact probably enough to sink a battleship today as a friend of Bill W I choose not to.

My experience with alcohol is that it was certainly an aquired taste. I doubt any teenager really enjoyed his or her first taste of beer or wine.

We perservered and got used to it and came to like the taste because it was an accepted part of being "grown-up".

As I remember the 1970s when I was in my twenties, it was easier for a girl to refuse a drink than for a young man. At that time, the attitude was still to a great extent that a "real" man drank in moderation and could even allow himself to become slightly drunk.

Women of any age were supposed to remain sober, or more or less so. For a woman to be seen drunk in public was much, much worse than for a man.

Soft drinks with the exception of tonic water were all nearly unbearably sweet, so not drinking or getting through a party on very little alcohol could be difficult, if like me, you never like very sweet soft drinks.

In my childhood, it was still fairly common to see men who were rolling drunk in the streets in Scotland, which my parents blamed on the licensing laws of the time with the limited times where publicans might serve drink. In Denmark, where you could and can buy a drink at any hour of the day you please, and even after most pubs close at 11 p.m. or midnight, you can find one that is legallly open until 2 or 5 a.m. you only rarely saw anyone who was drunk and incapable.

That has changed over the years, mainly I think due to the fact that young people today "mix their drinks" in other words drink both beer or wine and spirits in the same bout, or take drugs and drink at the same time.

When I was young, we were taught that mixing drinks or drink and drugs was the height of stupidity, and most of did not do so. We were also taught not to drink on an empty stomach.

During the 1970s and onwards to the turn of the century, drunk driving became far less common, now it unfortunately seems to be on the increase.

Why anyone should want to drink to excess has always been a mystery to me, or a temptation I, having tried it once or twice was easily able to resist, for which I am truly thankful.

I cannot believe that drinking as such is more prevelant today than formerly. As with everything else, what is socially acceptable changes and this affects drinking habits and patterns.

Frankly, if the only alcoholic drinks I had tried were beer, sherry or extremely cheap wine, I would give it a swerve too.

Nothing wrong with having a glass of wine, in fact a glass of red wine daily is highly recommended for our well-being. Brandy and Babycham a very popular drink in 70/80. As was Port and Brandy wonderful for stomach ache too. If you stick to the recommended level for men and women, you are doing fine.

I'm with you ElderlyPerson. I have never seen the attraction with alcohol and, like you, I couldn't afford to drink. My late husband, however, enjoyed a drink, though never to excess.

I stopped drinking over 40 years ago and don’t like being around drinkers their behaviour often changes the more they drink and not for the better. My son complains that most of his friends socialise in the pub, especially the men, and it is hard to find somewhere to meet that is alcohol free.

Dear Elderly person, You have said exactly what I think too.
I have never drunk or smoked, it was all so horrible to taste and smell and I have never understood either.
Perhaps this thread will give us the answer.

I used to drink alcohol when I was younger, but no longer drink it at all now. I stopped because my husband has to take lots of medication, as any alcohol counteracts the pain relief he gets. I didn't want to drink in front of him when he didn't have a choice. I no longer miss it. My family think I am mad - they drink regularly!
We all have freedom of choice. I now think alcohol is far too costly, as a means of pleasure. There are many things to provide enjoyment, some of them are even free!

I haven’t noticed any posts about the addictive nature of alcohol. It is in fact another mind altering drug, along with such as opioids which are controlled in most Western countries. I do drink, so am not preaching, but Prof David Nutt, founder of Drug Science, believes that alcohol is more dangerous than heroin and crack cocaine. If introduced now it would be tightly controlled, but I am not sure the way we regulate addictive drugs in this country helps the problem anyway.

I like the taste of a lot of alcohol, which is why I drink it. I like being a little drunk since I’m fairly stressed and uptight most of the time! I also don’t drink very often, certainly not to the point of being drunk, because the hangovers outweigh anything else. I’ve smoked pot and enjoyed the experience - and the taste if it’s a good quality strain - but that was always more fun at a folk festival in a chill, community environment. It does pair well with a single malt though!

I prefer my alcohol either very smoky, like Laphroig or Caol Isla, or fruity and sweet like a good peach beer or flavoured gin. It’s definitely a full sensory experience for me - I like the colour, the ritual of making a cocktail, of making something an experience, as well as the taste and the effects. And good scotch smells like bonfires.

I don't think the social pressure to drink alcohol is as strong as it once was. Many of my adult children's friends are indifferent to alcohol; sometimes they have a couple, sometimes more than a couple, other times they choose soft drinks and nobody comments or forces them to choose alcohol. There are thankfully, many more choices of soft drink than there used to be, I didn't drink alcohol for years, a combination of pregnancy and breast feeding, and frankly the choices then were all aimed at those who likes sweet sugary drinks such as orange juice which I do not. There are now a huge range alcohol free beers and ciders, elderflower drinks and the low or alcohol free wines are a very acceptable accompaniment to dinner when I have decided to be the driver. I really do appreciate the issues some may have if they have had experience of alcoholism within the family, but the majority of us can manage to enjoy a crisp G&T on a Friday night and/or a glass or two with friends in the garden, without waking up with a hangover or acting unwisely.

During the workday in lockdown, sometimes I have a non-alcoholic cocktail or especially nice soft drink like pomegranate San Pellegrino or sour cherry soda just to make the day feel a bit more decadent!

I, like you, simply don’t understand it. Alcohol is simply ethanol and a poison that is implicit in 18 types of cancer and endless deaths from “accidents.” Children suffer when parents drink. Yet the alcohol companies make a fortune on our misfortune. It’s a type of brainwashing, a true waste of money, and would be intolerable if various flavors were not added to it. It has often been used to numb and “get through” difficult times but actually delays healing and ignites discord. Never liked it and wish I didn’t have to “make excuses” just because I have no interest in it. I also wish that special occasions did not have to be awash in the stuff! Thank you for this discussion!!

If introduced now it would be tightly controlled, an interesting point, but we all know how well that went when USA tried early last century.