we must know different people
Read an article a bit ago. Take away: Millennials drink the most but largely kicked the nicotine thing. Gen Z have brought back nicotine in a big way, even causing a resurgence in chewing tobacco. Its all just homosapiens coping, so I say pick your poison and keep doing your best.
And those not doing nicotine are probably doing THC instead. There is a measurable negative impact of legalizing marijuana on alcohol sales
Which is weird, cause I can drop drinking no problem, I’m on the nicotine train for life though, 35yo.
That’s interesting. I do not have any desire to start smoking, but I probably do drink more than I should. I don’t drink daily, but if I have one I’m probably having 2-4. I’m a hair holder than you are fwiw.
Its all just homosapiens coping,
Exactly. Want to actually fight drugs? Give people something to hope for, and opportunities to do better things than constantly numb oneself with various substances to cope with a soulless nightmare society.
I notice it’s a good barometer for society’s health: Once all the jobs start laying off again and the costs go up and up and up and we get into some other war, everybody starts reaching for the stims to get through their jobs and the narcotics to find respite from everything else.
Just constant stress and pressure in the very air. It sucks…
Yeah millennials are like the most alcoholic generation.
Laughs in British.
By the time Americans are trying alcohol for the first time, some of us are straight up alcoholics and have been trying to quit for several years.
Weird flex.
You can recover by telling us we’re dumb for building houses out of wood, or calling us fat.
Well yes, there are several other policies and mannerisms of yours besides the 21-year-old MLDA that are quite frankly inscrutable to me.
I see a lot of ridiculouness tv show every day. The american culture like opening cans with their teeth on the side of the can and throwing themselves onto tables and from roofs is completely insane. Nobody even bats an eye.
Americans don’t even build houses out of wood anymore, we build houses out of plastic and sawdust.
Is our wooden house situation old-hat now? It seems like the problem is just going to get worse as time goes on
Nah dude we should be building heavy stone houses despite one of our coasts being highly prone to earthquakes, the entire middle of our country prone to tornadoes and only a small section of the east coast being suitable for heavy stone houses! We should be willing to be crushed to death in an earthquake or take a fat rock to the head during a tornado so they can’t talk about this anymore!!
Woah wooden houses are totally resistant to all those situations and even more! I’m certain that’s why we build so many and leave them empty across every biome in the country.
!!! Fuck I forgot to add all these. Just sprinkle em in as you please
It’s not hard to get liquor as a teen in the US and it’s underground. I was drinking too vomiting just about every weekend throughout highschool. I doubt that’s going on as much with a 5% lager in a pub, and I don’t see clubs tolerating it that much.
I’d be interested in seeing numbers on which produce more alcoholics. Coming from the latter, the former would have been much safer and better overall🤷♂️.
Some on the continent have been legally drinking since 16, and illegally since earlier than that
I would say a majority of Americans drink long before they turn 21. I have friends who experienced exactly what you’re talking about
I’m honestly so concerned by the amount of energy drinks zoomers drink, plus the vaping. They’re less into downers, but fuck me they love those stimulants.
The vaping is depressing because it feels like all the gains made by anti-smoking have been eroded with more people smoking than ever before.
I personally don’t mind vaping, since many smokers switched to vaping and people who vape don’t emit a passive aura of stench.
Thing is, the vaping is so much worse for heavy metals, so were going to have to dedicate a huge amount of resources treating people for that since it is actually so unchecked
I personally don’t care whether vaping is worse for the person doing it than smoking. The thing I do care about is that vaping affects other people much less than smoking does.
Right, but how are you measuring that? Vaping is far less addressed than tobacco cigarettes are and whatever health effects there may be could be broad enough in the coming decades to stress healthcare systems, and it has facilitated an entire industry of disposable coils and batteries used to power the things, which then just get chucked wherever. It’s maybe less harmful in terms of second hand smoke, though I haven’t read any study to confirm that, but that isn’t the only way harm is caused.
I’ve binned off both but personally it’s the cigarettes I miss, especially straights. Vaping just tastes cloying as fuck to me now, it’s so strongly flavoured if you’re vaping a lot you become totally nose-blind to it.
At least with Vaping there’s no second hand smoke iirc, so while it’s still bad for you it doesn’t damage the people around you too thus it’s more of a personal choice
Ngl I have a problem with energy drinks… been trying to ditch them in favour of coffee
I was a heavy coffee drinker until they found my heart defect.
Now I have no caffeine, doctor’s orders, for 22 ish years now.
Sometimes I’ll sneak a sip of coffee if I have a migraine, it helps. But God help me I won’t sleep that night.
You don’t realize how much of a tolerance to and a dependence on caffeine that you build up, until you’re off of it for awhile, and try some again.
It really has a powerful effect on you, even if you don’t realize it right now.
If I drank an energy drink right now, after being dry for so long, my heart would definitely race and I doubt I’d sleep for two days.
I don’t miss caffeine though, honestly. I don’t wake up tired anymore, I just, wake up. And drink some water 🤷♂️ then go to work, feeling fine. Not amazingly energized, but not dragging either… Just… Normal 🤷♂️
Caffeine is a drug like anything else. If you can get off the stuff for awhile, say 6 months? I bet you’ll be amazed at how you feel, and you won’t go back.
The difference is incredible! I am not and never was a caffeine addict. I just drink from time to time and I enjoy the taste. But that “from time to time” is like once in 3 months. Or at least when I need energy and my sleep was short that night.
The difference is insane! It keeps me glued and moving the whole day. I come off work and I do things non stop. I can’t shut up. It doesn’t let me fall asleep quicker than usual (10-15min). It feels that it is a some sort of an enhancement drug.
I hope I will never require it most of the days so I won’t build tolerance. And I do not want to get addicted to energy drinks. If coffee is a mild enhancement drug, energy drink is a straight up poison mixed with cocaine.
I have ADHD and dont take the meds and im pretty sure without caffeine id just fall apart.
Also ADHD here, but perhaps a different blend? At any rate, I function 🤷♂️
Yeah I just about function, failed university and got kicked out but am able to hold down a job and pay rent thank fuck.
Is there a reason you don’t take the meds, like cost or something?
If not, you should definitely prioritize the meds, you’re going to build up a resilience to Caffeine faster and it’s like, so bad for you. I get it though, weed and caffeine are super common and effective forms of self-medication fot ADHD.
I can only get generic concerta on the NHS which does NOT work at all, sideeffects are not worth the impact it has. If I want to be in a medicated state I generally just obtain high quality speed paste and dose it at a theraputic level.
Jesus christ, and I thought Canadian healthcare was a shit show. From what I understand, lisdexafetamine (Vyanse) should also be covered by the NHS, though I’m not sure about what the requirements for generic brands are there. It’s much, much easier on you than something like concerts.
I want Vyvanse but cannot get it due to shortages, I know for a fact that amphetamines work well for me even mentioned it to my doctor that I’d tried them but alas. NHS is seemingly in a constant state of meltdown.
The piper is coming. No I’m not defending alcohol, but the level of drug addiction among our young people is shocking. The amount of digital addiction is shocking. I work in youth crisis so I am not talking on my ass, most young people are addicts now. So it’s all fun to talk down about boomers who drank but holy fuck is this generation ever screwed.
While what you seen is definitely real, it may not be as bad as what you see as you work in the field of youth crisis. You see it so often as that is your job and it can skew your findings to be more to the negative side as people that are not having those issues likely aren’t going to a youth crisis center and therefore are not around you. Again, it is very much a thing, but you do have some unintended bias as that is what you do for a living.
You are assuming that my experience is limited to youth crisis.
I have 11 years of experience working in addiction,… My response to your cynicism is this… You can only truly understand the scope of the greater issues on all levels … And with all generations, once you’ve worked in the field. And it helps to have lived experience.
Edit: oh yeah I know, I’ll up vote the uninformed opinion, and I’ll downvote the person who works in the field and is an educated and trained and expert /s
If it helps, I gave you both updoots because the discussion was enlightening and mostly productive. :)
Love a pint, personally. Drinking with friends trumps most other activities. Currently on my way to see The Prodigy with some old friends I’m meeting in Edinburgh. Looking forward to the pubs and merry laughs as much as the gig, in fact more so.
Ehm. Cigarettes, alcohol, cocaine, ketamine, speed, xtc, ghb, lsd, etc. Just alcohol is for noobs.
where is good old weed?
It gets me fucked up in my head so I don’t like it. The weed we have around here is next level stuff. I smoked when I was young but can’t handle it anymore.
Not sure if boomers includes late forties but I quit drinking 4 or 5 years ago & went vegetarian.
Best decisions of my life after marriage & having kids.
Late forties is late gen x, a firm decade between you and the boomwrs
Damn, even gen X forgot about gen X
It tastes like ass as well. I haven’t drank in like 8 years by now, but I think I would’ve taken longer to quit it if it tasted like a full fat Coke, lol.
Tastes are funny. I think coke tastes like ass. I’d much rather have a good beer.
And I feel like when I first started drinking, 15, 16 years old, drinks with flavor were easier to consume. As drinking progressed, those were the drinks I avoided like the plague. I haven’t had a long island iced tea since I was 21 or 22.
And that’s not to say there aren’t well crafted cocktails that taste good, but none of them taste like a coke.
I’m not against a pornstar martini every once in a while, but only if it’s made well. I’ve had instant cocktails and those are not even worth the tin they’re served in.
Most canned margaritas due in a pinch though. Learned this on a spirit flight
I will say that Surfsides aren’t bad, but generally I’m not a fan of any of them.
Yeah, same. Was struck by it at a korean restaurant that had the equivalent of a wine pairing, and their selection was just … something for children, only children can’t drink. As in, I like straight soju and makgeolli, but I’d rather get some craft makgeolli without sweeteners than something flavoured like chemical blueberry replica.
Commercially produced makgeolli will always use artificial sweeteners because there’s still active fermenting taking place and any real sweeteners will be turned into alcohol, which will effect the taste and alcohol content. With craft makgeolli, you add a sweetener, like juice or honey or sugar, shortly before serving.
Mmm, bottle fermentation.
But I think the main point is more along the lines of expectations for alcohol and general tastes: I find overly sweet stuff a turn-off, and generally need to temper sweet stuff with something sour or bitter.
Also, mixing juice and alcohol can very often result in what a lot of us drank as teenagers, and may have rather negative associations to. Like I don’t have problems with gimlets and micheladas or radlers, but I think I prefer them all on the boozier side, and stuff like rum & coke is just … not for me.
So if I go to a restaurant and get what I interpret as more or less teenager drinking swill full of artificial flavouring, Black Tower and general goon sack swill, I’m going to have a bad time, and be left wondering if this stuff is actually representative of what they consider alcohol for adults, or if the people at the restaurant are being weird.
Yeah, the smell of RedBull vodka makes me nearly puke now, after young me actually puked too often from it
I also don’t like sweet alcohol stuff.
My little brother on the other side doesn’t like beer and tends more to those sugar bombs.
Can’t understand it… The sugar makes the hangover much worseI drank Malibu once, when I was 12. I got very drunk (as 12 year olds do), and haven’t been able to smell it without nausea since
Yeah, I get it. There was a bit of a fruit flavored soju fad about ten years ago in Korea, but that has pretty much completely died off. You’d be hard pressed to find soju cocktails or makgeolli dolled up in Korea outside of a few regional places that want to be known for chestnut or corn or sweet potato makgeolli.
I do think a lot of people force themselves to like it, when it’s “cool” as a young adult. I’d bet most people would pick a different drink if there was no buzz around alcohol.
100%. I never could convince myself to like it and I tried like hell in my early 20s. Then I discovered hard cider, still not better than a soda but good enough to easily get fucked up with.
But then weed became legal and I’ve all but phased out drinking altogether. Besides, it’s too damn expensive
“Cool” or “tough”, I saw it both in my teenage and army days. People are very silly. Being a good family man, responsible father and loving husband, that’s cool; controlling one’s anger, being self-sacrificial, needing little and giving a lot, that’s tough. Oh well. 🤷♂️🙃
if it tasted like a full fat Coke, lol.
Sugar is more addictive than alcohol.
And so is coffee from what my mom tells me but nobody cheated, got rowdy or beat his wife because of too many churros, lol.
This sounded like bullshit but I’m open to the idea enough to do a few minutes of digging. The study that the first few search results reference tested rats and found that, according to my understanding at least, intermittent sugar intake can be addictive in a similar manner to opiates, but to a smaller degree than actual opiates. There was no comparison to alcohol.
There was this brief article where the chair of nutrition at Harvard said sugar can mimic some traits of addictiveness but specifically stated it can’t be classified the same as alcohol or nicotine. No actual study done, just a guy who presumably knows what he’s talking about.
So claiming sugar is more addictive than alcohol still sounds like bullshit to me. Habit forming? Yes. Withdrawal symptoms after high regular consumption? Yes. Over consumed (at least in the US)? Hell yes. But more addictive than alcohol? Do you have an actual source to support such a claim?
They compared sugar to the worst known addictive substance- opiates. Alcohol is far less addictive than opiates. Therefore, despite a lack of quantizing what is “less”, it is likely that sugar is more addictive than alcohol.
I haven’t drank in ~2.5 years and got served an alcoholic beer on accident.
Even the first sip tasted awful. Super sweet but at the same time like disinfectant.
And I used to love this brand of beer. Crazy how much of an acquired taste alcohol is.You sure that wasn’t an alcohol free beer? Unless it’s de-alcholized beer, a non-alcoholic beer is stopped being brewed before a lot of the sugar from the yeast is turned into alchohol.
So they tend to be sweeter unless they add some additives, and they taste like stale alcohol as well, that could have been the disinfectant tinge. As they are still 0.5% alcohol typically.
100% sure because I’ve ordered the nonalcoholic Version and they apologised about a hundred times when I pointed out it was an alcoholic beer.
I drink a lot of non alcoholic beers and tried a lot of different brands, so I’m used to the way they taste. Also a lot of them have very low amounts of sugar in them (I.e. Jever fun, Fürstenberg 0%, etc).
Sweet beer?
What brand was it. Beer is bitter, not sweet unless you add some fruit or it’s mixed beer with juice something else.
Beer should be barley (wheat/rice/etc), hops, water, and yeast. That’s it.
It was Hacker-Pschorr Weißbier, so a Bavarian would say as beer as it can get
I see that’s a perfectly normal ingredient list. Maybe the glass wasn’t cleaned? That’s so weird about the sweet though.
I’ve had some 8% fruit yeasted beers, and they do taste like juice though.
I can’t stand beer or wine (or Coke), but I genuinely enjoy the harsh taste of hard liquor. I stopped drinking over a year ago and have no desire to ever drink alcohol again, but sometimes the craving for the taste hits me so hard and I almost give in until I remember how alcohol makes me feel, both while I’m drinking it and the day after. I really wish I could sit and enjoy a few drinks for the taste without there being any alcohol in it.
I can drink beer, but after working on and off at a distillery for a decade as a contractor, the smell of vodka/whiskey just makes me gag.
Wonder if it’s somewhat emotional, like reminiscing the “good ol’ days”, or if it’s just truly an acquired taste. Idk, I probably partied and drank more than 95% of “programmer socks” and “ugh I hate people” lemmings but now even a glass of prosecco is not tasty at all, lol. I could just have juice, and for a fraction of the price!
As a millennial enjoying a cocktail right now, hey, you do you.
I’m gonna say it, alcohol and smoking is shit. Especially those who smoke you even smell like shit
Yeah. I’m not a Boomer I’m GenX, but as I get older I come to realize - poisoning myself with alcohol is becoming more & more appealing. Life sucks.
Older Millennial here, they are right, too bad people my age didn’t get the memo. Never understood, even back in school, why getting plastered is celebrated.
Because… well… points around in multiple directions
That’s not going to make anything better though. You’ll just go down a path of addiction and self-destruction. Plus it’s expensive.
The main reason I’ve decided to abstain from alcohol is because I’ve seen first-hand what alcoholism does to a person. I’ve don’t want to end like my dad.
Same! I’m Gen-X and promised myself at age 4 when I witnessed my dad was always stumbling into the house drunk & ill & scary, I have no desire to put any poison into my body. Still never have and never will.
If alcohol guarantees death at 60 like my alcoholic narcissistic pos dad, I think I’ll just keep drinking. Other drugs too because I’m not a fucking square like he was :). If you have someone (even if it’s just you) to protect from yourself, I completely understand. edit: shit, if you have another good reason, that’s cool too. I’m drunk.
I stopped drinking against my will, and every day I open the news I wish to god I could pick it back up.
