Few substances are as deeply woven into everyday life as alcohol. It is a fixture at holiday celebrations, work-related social gatherings, sporting events, airports, and brunch or dinner tables. A raised glass for a toast, the ubiquitous wedding open bar or drinks shared during a Fourth of July celebration all demonstrate how deeply alcohol has become embedded in social customs and cultural traditions.

Yet alcohol contributes to millions of deaths globally each year and is linked to cancer, liver disease, unintentional accidents, violence and, importantly, dependence and addiction. Despite this, the disconnect between alcohol’s cultural role and its serious health burden is striking.

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[–] 24 points 2 months ago (29 children)

People want to get fucked up. Society will find a way and sanction it.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (5 children)

    Yeah but it doesn't have to be alcohol like it doesn't have to be heroin. Alcohol is worse than heroin by just about any scientific metric, and yet we just choose to view them very differently because of tradition.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    Isn't heroin, like, insanely addictive?

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  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago

    Yes. I haven't gone as far as heroin, however over a decade ago I quit sniffing morphine powder (like that character from that show, Mr Robot I think the name is? Couldn't watch that for long).

    As a result of stress from childhood abuse, and bullying, I drank alcohol from a young age. I first remember being drunk at about 5 years old. At 12 I would often have a cap of brandy to start the day, before school. Alcohol provided it's issues, and whilst I cannot drink now for health reasons I could at least stop, go for long periods of time without drinking, and it didn't provide such a hold on me.

    The morphine was something else.

    When it's sniffed, it has a different effect. There is a strong initial rush of euphoria, as if my brain was on its way to having an orgasm. That feeling subsided into a sort of... Content numbness. Satisfaction to an unnatural degree. The feeling of accomplishment, from the drug, felt more fulfilling than... Anything. It removed desires, because it felt more worth it to just do the drug instead of even sex, because that felt empty compared to how fulfilling the morphine felt.

    The withdrawals were an absolute nightmare.
    Once I realised I was developing a dangerous problem, I went cold turkey. Sweating from head to toe, and a lot. Constantly shivering, cramping in my gut, throwing up and having to force myself to drink water. Nightmares so incredibly vivid. I felt like I was going to die, and this lasted for almost two full weeks.

    Alcohol is dangerous for sure, but if heroin is anything like the morphine I was sniffing... It just isn't comparable in my experience.

    Been clean since 2012. That shit is the devil if there ever is one.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (2 children)

    Yes, almost as addictive as alcohol even!

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  • [–] 0 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    I honestly don't know about that. I don't want to fall for drug paranoia propaganda, but there's people who literally take heroin substitutes every day, but I've never heard of anyone addicted to non-alcoholic beer.

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    [–] 21 points 2 months ago (3 children)
  • [–] 11 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    It is depressing how romanticised and popularised alcohol is for certain effects which dismiss others. The fact that alcohol is so dangerous to everyone, disregards the prior logic which the age gates and the recommended unit amounts made us believe.

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  • [–] 14 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    It causes a lot of problems but also its one of the things that make life worth living

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  • [–] 9 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    Doesn't alcohol also just sort of happen whenever wild yeasts are around?

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  • [–] [S] 5 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Yeah. Botulism just kinda happens, too.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago

    In soil, sure. For it to happen in food requires warm, anaerobic conditions. These are conditions everyone in food prep is taught to avoid and for which restaurants are inspected and graded, with the most egregious offenders even shut down.

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  • [–] -2 points 2 months ago (6 children)

    These threads always bring out the teetotalers. Mind your own business.

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  • [–] -2 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    Stop making it sound so cool.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    Yet alcohol contributes to millions of deaths globally each year and is linked to cancer, liver disease, unintentional accidents, violence and, importantly, dependence and addiction. Despite this, the disconnect between alcohol’s cultural role and its serious health burden..

    yeah, so cool

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Drink Responsibly

    All movies and TV shows feature drinking scenes...all of them. Lazy film making.

    Even Supergirl is a drunk now.

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