From your experience do you think alcoholism is widespread in the UK?

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AJMurphy_1986@reddit

You won't get a balanced view on reddit, it takes a weirdly puritanical view towards alcohol.

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Great_Justice@reddit

I once saw a comment by somebody who said they were terrified by the amount of people just living their lives addicted to caffeine. They weren’t being sarcastic.

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pinkthreadedwrist@reddit

People here do seem to take a very narrow view when drinking in quantity is involved. IMO it's much more about patterns of drinking than any particular amount in one night.

Getting blackout drunk after 4 drinks doesn't mean you are an alcoholic by any stretch of the imagination... except I think a lot of redditors are under 21 and drank the DARE kool-aid. Apparently partying is way less of a thing now?

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jj198handsy@reddit

Getting ‘blackout drunk’ after four drinks is what happens when you are a teenager with no tolerance.

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pinkthreadedwrist@reddit

... which has nothing to do with alcoholism.

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CarpeCyprinidae@reddit

the irony of your post is astonishing.

For someone who is not seriously habituated to alcohol consumption, 4 drinks would usually result in quite serious drunkenness.

One definition of alcoholism is having built up a tolerance to alcohol to the extent that a normal degree of drinking wouldnt affect you much.

Is this the worst, "stereotypical" sort of alcoholism - the one we associate with the sad men queueing outside the Co-Op at 7am to buy their breakfast beer? no.

Alcoholism all the same? undoubtedly.

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jj198handsy@reddit

For someone who is not seriously habituated to alcohol consumption, 4 drinks would usually result in quite serious drunkenness.

If you re-read my words you will see this is the point I am making.

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CarpeCyprinidae@reddit

sorry. I read it as an implication that a normal 30-something wouldnt/shouldnt get blackout drunk after 4 drinks

100% true. Ive pointed this out multiple times on this sub.

Ive mentioned a few times on an average week i probobly drink around 12 pints. Yes, 12 pints a WEEK, not day, and some of the responses i got were insane lol, basically telling me im a functioning alcoholic.

12 pints a week is an average of about 1.7 pints a day😂

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Penderyn@reddit

12 pints a week is excessive. It's literally defined as excessive.

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cactusdan94@reddit

Defined by who?

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Penderyn@reddit

Unless you are drinking low strength alcohol, 12 pints is equivalent to about 36 units. The NHS recommends not to drink more than 14 units, so that's more than 2x the recommended amount. Ergo, excessive.

I mean, literally no one cares if you drink 36 units, or even 100 units, but don't kid yourself too.

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irezumiguy@reddit

Bro drinking 12 pints a week is excessive no matter how much you want to try and justify it. Find something better to do with your time or a different way to relax other than drinking it ain’t hard

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I mean you can rationalise it and make it sound like not a big deal, but it’s not normal, no.

I guess we get into definition of what normal is here - but the majority of people don’t have 12 pints a week by any stretch. So… not normal.

You can be in a social group where this is normal and it can look like everyone drinks at this rate, but it’s not common.

You can check out these stats, but the one that stands out is that only 44% of people say they drink anything at least once a week.

No shame on people drinking 12 pints a week btw, sounds like a fun time, but it’s not the norm, that’s all.

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Evil_Knavel@reddit

only 48% of people say they drink anything at least once a week.

That can easily be skewed by people who occasionally take a week off or do dry January though. Technically they don't drink at least once a week, even if they're having a glass of wine or two with dinner every night.

The point people are trying to make is that while being above the recommended intake for adults, 12 drinks a week is not abnormal in the UK.

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Betaky365@reddit

Statisticians take those variables into account.

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Evil_Knavel@reddit

Statisticians take those variables into account.

Not in the drink aware article you shared. "48% of adults over 16 reported they drink at least once a every week".

55% of men none the less. It's women that pull the overall figure down to below half.

If you've ever worked in a pub you'll know that most of the regulars you see every day would be guaranteed to see a survey like this and think "I went 8 days in January of 2012 when my daughter was due to give birth, so no, obviously I don't drink at least one drink every week. And that week I was working in Saudi! Jesus that was hellish." and proudly tell the surveyor "no I can honestly say I don't drink every week".

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Betaky365@reddit

Oh no, not women pulling down the figures? 😱 Are they even people, why are they even included in the statistics?

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Evil_Knavel@reddit

Oh no, not women pulling down the figures? 😱 Are they even people, why are they even included in the statistics?

Ah of course. How misogynistic of me to point out that women reported drinking significantly less than men in the survey you have referenced.

I could also point out that the overall number of people reporting drinking at least once a week has fallen dramatically over the last decade, and attribute that to younger demographics likely drinking less, but I guess that would just be ageist?

Again you've missed the main point people are making. Drinking 12 alcoholic drinks in a week isn't exactly healthy and nobody is condoning it, but it's not abnormal for adults in the UK. A glass of wine with dinner most nights and then 4 or 5 drinks at the pub quiz on a Sunday and you can hit that number quite easily without ever even getting drunk.

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SpecificAlgae5594@reddit

You're not normal. Stop preaching.

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Betaky365@reddit

Damn that struck a cord. Enjoy your pint, nobody is preaching.

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thorpie88@reddit

I agree. It is at least socially normal even if it's above normal for health guidelines

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lachiendupape@reddit

What about the person themselves? I’m 196cm and 100kgs 12 pints in a week isn’t bad for me.

I’m glad I just seen your message as this thread was freaking me out, my partner is a Brit and drinks around 40 units a week (or less) and I have never comment on it as I just thought it was standard and it doesn’t cause problems, I definitely don’t think it’s healthy but I don’t see it as alcoholism either

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Evil_Knavel@reddit

Yeah honestly relax. It's not particularly healthy but it's not abnormal for Brits by any stretch of the imagination.

I've worked with people who will have a drink almost every night of the week, and I've worked with other people who will literally have a drink before they go to work. I'm in the former camp, a glass of wine or a beer with dinner most nights, maybe another couple before bed. Pub quiz couple of times a month.

Then there's guys like my mate. Walked into his work to drop something off and he handed me a massive mug of red wine at one o'clock in the afternoon. Looked at him bemused and before I could say anything he whispered "get rid of that for me, that's my area manager just walked in".

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Reetgeist@reddit

20-40 units a week is pretty standard for a lot of English people.

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Neither_Estate_1755@reddit

Don’t get convinced by the ex-army squaddie above lol, they drink for England.

40 units a week is an entire 1L bottle of whiskey a week. It’s bad for you, & does make you a habitual drinker. The guy above is full of shit, you will get withdrawal when stopping cold turkey. You won’t get seizures though, it’ll take a few bottles a week to get to that point.

But still, 40 units a week, keep it up for a few years & you will do a lot of damage to your body.

Just keep in mind it’s never alcoholism until it is blindingly obvious. We are a nation of functioning alcoholics.

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BenitoBro@reddit

I never drank that much but I've always been a bloke that's enjoyed a decent drink all through my teens and twenties. Dad drank a 4 pack a night after work so I never saw it as unusual. So I did the same, especially when away for work. Nowadays I'm dealing with Silent Reflux and a bowel issue, which are highly likely the result of those habits.

Smoke a joint 8 times a day to be able to tolerate life? It’s Mother Gaia’s natural medicine!

Oh this really annoys me every time I see it. It's like they're trying to actively normalise substance abuse.

Sorry but if you are smoking cannabis all the time you are an addict, you're no better than someone who needs a shot of vodka after waking up.

I took an American out for a "couple" of pints once, his face when I produced a full English the next morning was priceless.

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MisterrTickle@reddit

Reminds me of a guy 25 years ago who wanted to adopt kids. He was asked if he smoked and said that he liked a fine cigar after Christmas dinner (so one per year). For that he was denied the opportunity to adopt/foster, as he was a smoker.

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Sweaty_Leg_3646@reddit

The reason generally is that people who smoke underestimate (or flat out lie about) their own consumption.

"I have a cigarette when drinking occasionally" is common life insurance application code for "I smoke every day".

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PowerApp101@reddit

Exaggerate much? Those responses are usually for the people drinking a bottle of wine a night, or 6 beers a day etc and wondering if they're an alcoholic.

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UnimaginativeNameABC@reddit

I also wonder why the reason people take this personally is because they extrapolate to themselves and feel like their own lifestyle is being challenged, even if they’re not drinking a bottle per night.

Even so, why shouldn’t we have our lifestyles challenged, especially as all you have to say to a random stranger on the internet is “thanks but actually I’m happy with the way I live my life”.

It’s really thin-skinned to get so upset by the fact that some people on Reddit don’t approve of alcohol. People have different views on things. Sheesh.

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Intelligent_Prize_12@reddit

Use English much?

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PowerApp101@reddit

Yeah it's my native language, cheers

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itsamberleafable@reddit

Exaggerate much?

Oh I know.

I let both of my cats out and they have a cat-flap, they cone and go as they please - and the Septics eviscerated me. Told me that they would get run over and mauled by wild animals and into fights with other cats and also decimate the local wildlife population (how they can do that while definitely immediately dying from exposure to fresh air is beyond me...)

My oldest indoor/outdoor cat just passed away at 22.

Of old age.

If USA is so dangerous for cats, they shouldn't have them. They're a recent non-native species and they don't need to be there if the outdoor environment is so hostile.

That doesn't apply to the UK to anything like the same extent - but will they listen?

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Alternative_Dot_1026@reddit

My cat does catch mice and whatnot, but really it's just free pest control. Hell our government has a Chief Mouser who's job it is to catch pests around Downing Street.

Do you want rats and rodents, or do you want fluffy little kitty doing pest control at night

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InevitableSweet8228@reddit

Exactly.

My cat loves to climb trees - the younger one got this habit from older (22 year-old) who just passed away.

How miserable would I be if I wasn't greeted by him yelling at me and jumping into my arms from the nearest branch when I get home?

The fact that no mice survive in his vicinity is a definite bonus.

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Alternative_Dot_1026@reddit

Same way I could never have a caged bird. Or a dog without a garden. A rabbit without a runaround. Some/all animals just aren't meant to be shut in. Unless you're American.

I think my cats would literally die from depression if they weren't allowed outside

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InevitableSweet8228@reddit

I'm with you 100%.

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I have had lots of fun sober, and lots of fun drunk. You can't ignore the fact that drinking adds to the fun, though.

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imminentmailing463@reddit

And your conclusion from that is that nearly everyone who drinks is an alcoholic?

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baldeagle1991@reddit

Reddit is dominated by americans. They're very much the kind of people who think if you go to the public 2-3 times a week you're an alcoholic.

Even if you only have 2 pints each session.

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wholesomechunk@reddit

We did send them our hardline puritans when they wanted us brits to stop the pop.

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I guess I'm a stereotype in that I no longer drink for health and training purposes but I got downvoted to hell here for saying how I miss getting drunk with my mates.

This hits hard. I was a genuine functional alcoholic for years and I knocked it on the head - turned to powerlifting to keep me occupied which has the added benefit of discouraging drinking to maintain optimal performance.

But fuck me I don't half miss the good times that came with the social aspect of going out partying with your mates on the weekend. I have so many great memories.

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BushidoX0@reddit

I've always wondered are you the same with other vices?

If you, say eat unhealthy food, every now and then why did you choose to completely cut booze and not anything else?

I've always understood that if you had a genuine addiction one could lead to the other and before you know it you have been drinking for 2 weeks straight. But for those who used to enjoy a good time and are now taking health and fitness more seriously, is it just a mentality thing?

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Kazizui@reddit

If you, say eat unhealthy food, every now and then why did you choose to completely cut booze and not anything else?

I fit in this category. For me, it's the simple fact that I don't feel like I can sustain 'moderate' drinking in the long term. If I have a few drinks, next week I'll have a few more, and the week after more again. This is a psychological weak point of mine and it took me a good while to figure it out, so now I just avoid the problem. I don't find the same issue with food, though - I can have a takeaway once in a while without suddenly eating pizza every night for the next month.

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thymeisfleeting@reddit

I haven’t completely given up drinking, but I very rarely drink now. If we go to the pub for dinner, I might have a half, for example.

I’d say it’s different to other vices as you listed because eating unhealthy food doesn’t stop me from looking after my kids effectively, that’s the main thing for me. Plus, parenting on a hangover is horrendous, 0/10 would not recommend.

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DickBrownballs@reddit

Yeah for me they're very different. Even one drink ruins my sleep that night and that's all km concerned about. If I'm training 18hr a week on top of work, I can't afford to not sleep well, and a single beer measurably impacts that. A single chocolate bar doesn't do the same at all

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BushidoX0@reddit

Fair play fella, respect the dedication

If our country was a little bit more like you than me, we'd be in a much healthier place

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It's not as rare as you may think. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/statistics/substance-misuse-statistics https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2424288/

There are an estimated 630,000 alcoholics in the UK https://rehabsuk.com/blog/alcohol-addiction-statistics-uk/ Whereas There are approximately 1.8 million people addicted to cannabis https://www.ukat.co.uk/addiction/drug/cannabis/#:~:text=A%20staggering%20fourteen%20million%20people,used%20cannabis%20as%20a%20teen. And rising cannabis use is causing more and more NHS admissions - https://www.priorygroup.com/media-centre/cannabis-use-fuelling-rise-in-psychosis-among-young-adults-says-top-priory-expert As well as that there is growing evidence of a link between cannabis use and violence for example several mass shootings in the US were committed by people who frequently use cannabis.

Tbh pub culture absolutely contributes to the obesity crisis in the UK.

Just walk into a pub when it's busy and you'd think you're in a ball pit with the amount of spheres in the room.

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Sea-Breaz@reddit

Yes! It’s so weird. If you say you drink a bottle of wine a month, you’re an alcoholic who needs help asap and there’s clearly something wrong with you that you can’t have fun without a drink?!

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superduperbongodrums@reddit

This reply and the rest are really surprising me! I’m a nurse and wrote on another subreddit about regular daily drinking being dangerous. I got a really sassy reply and downvoted.

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IndigoIgnacio@reddit

We need to be realistic though.

The UK has a major binge drinking problem. For example; most of my mates won't drink regularly during the week aside from a few, but will consume an insane amount when they do.

Vuldezad@reddit

It's because drinking is often a social activity; pubs, clubs & events encourage interaction.

Those who can't interact socially often don't thrive well in that environment. They become resentful.

The fact of the matter is if you drink in moderation you'll be fine unless you have an underline health condition.

Drinking is the cornerstone of social Interaction in adult life; it's not talked about how important it is. The Pub, especially, is a melting pot in which social barriers are dissolved.

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Metal_Octopus1888@reddit

If drinking is "THE cornerstone of social interaction in adult life" as you put it, then how does that work in countries/cultures/religions where alcohol is forbidden/restricted or just non-existent?

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Intelligent_Prize_12@reddit

They go around stabbing each other, stoning women and raping their wives.

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amsdkdksbbb@reddit

People have other ways to connect in other countries. Coffee culture is huge in the Arabian Gulf for example. People there socialise differently, they gather at each others houses. Friend groups often carve out a day of the week where they will gather at someones house and eat and drink (non alcoholic drinks).

British people are generally more reserved than other cultures (and less reserved than others!) so I assume that is why the person above was saying alcohol is the cornerstone of social interaction as an adult.

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Speshal__@reddit

I've a friend I met in the pub about 18 years ago, he'd just moved from South Africa, we got chatting about Rugby and the rest is history, he's about 30 years older than I so now I drive him and his wife to their respective appointments/Heathrow runs.

This is the Internet. It's creates such people who live out their fantasies. It's better for them that they remain fantasy.

Unfortunately fantastists often get lost in their world.

Yeah, no problem, do it.

Antibiotic + alcohol = kissing the toilet for the next 36 hours, with heartburn.

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CatalunyaNoEsEspanya@reddit

I've done it before it's fine

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Forward_Bell3408@reddit

I’ve drank on antibiotics loads of times, the only issue I had was having the shits lol

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CatalunyaNoEsEspanya@reddit

Other than just alcohol being generally bad for you there's no specific reason to advise avoiding it while on antibiotics. If you're seriously ill it's doubtful you'd want a drink anyway.

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sv21js@reddit

It depends which ones. You can’t on metronidazole or tinizadole.

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CatalunyaNoEsEspanya@reddit

Yeah when you're on them you'll be told and it's not so common

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I think there big issue Where they lot people who sit in grey area . Yes they not alcoholic. They don't get medical sysmyoms of alcoholic but

they have huge health issue related to alcohol
there relationship around them been effect by alcohol
they can't relax without it or go to social event without it. Just see post where people have dry wedding because they don't drink for whatever reasons . People are awful about it.

We don't talk healthy about this grey area. We all know someone who shorten life by drinking . We all know someone who become tit when drunk and are awful to people around them .

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kitjen@reddit

I could go to a wedding and not drink and be absolutely fine... if everyone eles was also sober. For me it's not so much my sobriety which is the issue, it's the feeling that everyone else is gradually entering a state where I won't belong.

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Puzzleheaded_Rub5562@reddit

Yes.

Alcoholic mothers give birth to a few million children with fetal alcohol syndrome every year in the UK.

My relative was unironically told to drink Guiness during her pregnancy in the 90s because she was low on iron. Thr medics back then could be an absolute joke too with these things.

And too much of the youth culture is based on consuming alcohol.

People now are cutting back on alcohol because there are more innocent drugs available out there, which is both happy and sad :3

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Connect-Lettuce4027@reddit

A big thing that's missed here is how alcohol is consumed. I would assume these days most of it is consumed at home. Netflix and a bottle etc but going back a generation you would be in the pub with your mates and socializing. The positive effects of socializing having a drink are never mentioned. I'm not talking getting wasted just having 3/4 social pints this is very good for the soul.

A bigger and more dangerous epidemic is mental health these days and I know more people that have been negatively affected by this and weed smoking than booze. You can't help thinking that if we all got back in the pub for a few after work every day that people mental health would be much improved with human interaction and a little daily therapy session. A wonderful thing that's sad to see it dying out.

The government should really make their mind up the unit limits are crazily low and we're actually double what they are now until 2016. If alcohol is so damaging at even low levels why is it available in every supermarket and street corner and even petrol stations? Obviously there are people that have genuine dependancy issues and the binge drinking culture although dying out now was certainly a huge issue when I was in my early years of clubbing when town centers were all war zones on Friday night.

Maybe off site alcohol should be banned or at least looked at and pubs being looked at more so if you want a drink the pub is the easiest option rather than probably drinking more at gone because it's cheaper and nobody is monitoring you.

The medical profession can throw the baby out with the bath water too my Mrs was in hospital recently and reported consumption just over the recommended limits and was asked if she needed some support to get herself off the booze! Ridiculous. I also know of a few examples where people have reported slightly over recommended consumption in a GP setting and had their driving licence revoked and had to undergo testing over a 9-12 month period to get it back! If you think that can no easy be true Google it!

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Kazizui@reddit

A bigger and more dangerous epidemic is mental health these days and I know more people that have been negatively affected by this and weed smoking than booze. You can't help thinking that if we all got back in the pub for a few after work every day that people mental health would be much improved with human interaction and a little daily therapy session. A wonderful thing that's sad to see it dying out.

I find it weird to assume alcohol has to be part of this, though. Arguing that people should socialise more after work is a separate issue imo; but those that do can just as easily do it with coffee/soft drinks/NA beer.

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Connect-Lettuce4027@reddit

Yeah absolutely true and for people that want to do that great but alcohol is a great lubricant for social situations too and there are benefits. An evening of beer tickled laughter in a cozy local boozer is great for the mind and soul.

There will always be those that take it too far and abuse substances though. I've long thought MDMA should be legalised as the unadulterated form of this compound is actually very safe but people would abuse it and legalisation just wouldn't work.

It's hard to know what the future will be with all of this stuff it's totally impossible to control but with booze there's no attempt to control this supposedly dangerous drug. I mean you can get a sales license for just about any premises and nearly all retail outlets sell it.

The younger generation have the right idea really drinking isn't as much of a thing. I'm 45 now and we were in pubs from age 15 onwards you'd never get away with it now but it seems the kids this age now to me are a bit straight laced and aren't partying like we did!

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Kazizui@reddit

Yeah I'm the same generation as you (47) and started drinking in my mid-teens. Lot of good times, but also a lot of bad times - I honestly couldn't say which way the scales tip overall. I've had to knock it on the head now due to hypertension medication (high blood pressure runs in my family, though of course decades of drinking only made it worse), but I'm still going on an all-day pub crawl in a few weeks with my uni drinking buddies to celebrate Xmas. I'll be on the Guinness 0.0%, expecting to have a great time.

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Funky_monkey2026@reddit

Yes, definitely. My meetings are ALWAYS about the same two people who binge drink over the weekend and are hungover, and a close friend of mine can't do anything without alcohol being involved. He can have a bottle of wine, go gym, get out, straight onto another bottle of wine, then go pub for three Negronis and a couple of shots of tequila. Every. Single. Day. He runs a very successful business and I've never once seen him drunk. He must spend £100 on alcohol every day.

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Ca7hG@reddit

Oh yes, many people love alcohol and in fact the government are trying to make a pint of beer cheaper because we love drinking that much. I live in St.Albans where there is hardly any drunk people, however if you just drive 45mins-1 hour away you can find drunk people all over the streets of Borehamwood or Edgware, sometimes Barnet or Enfield.

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muddledmedic@reddit

It's perception based. If you were to ask a room of 100 people if they were an alcoholic or if they drank beyond healthy limits, you would get a variety of answers, and they wouldn't directly correlate with the amount the person answering drank. This is because people perceive a healthy amount of alcohol to drink as widely different.

Some people drink every night with dinner, just one drink, but that would put them over the reccomended weekly limit. They may have always done this, and see no issue. Some people drink 3-5 drinks every Friday and Saturday night, but they don't drink every night so surely thats fine and not unhealthy. The issue is culture and perception.

In my experience, I would say many people drink beyond the reccomended intake, probably more than statistics would suggest. I suspect it's underreported as people wouldn't think their drinking is to excess (like in the examples above). Alcoholism is a different beast entirely, and many who drink above the reccomended limits are not alcoholics, they could give up tomorrow no issues if needed. Alcoholism is an addiction, not just an excess of alcohol intake. Alcoholics are dependent on alcohol to some extent (whether physically or emotionally).

Looking across the demographics the teens/uni students & older generations (age 50+) are the bigger drinkers. The teens/students more binge drinking and the older generations more regular drinking but over the reccomended limits each week. There seems to be a big cohort of millennials/Gen Z who don't drink at all or rarely drink, and I think health culture has had a huge impact on this group. Since COVID, there has been an increase in drinking to excess at home, likely due to the impact of furlough, lockdowns and lack of things to do. Most of these people again aren't alcoholics.

All of this is purely anecdotal based on my experience as both a Dr but also as a family member of those with alcohol addiction.

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MeasurementDouble324@reddit

I’ve known alchoholics as long as I’ve been alive. It just seemed like a normal part of life growing up in poor areas in Scotland in the 90/00s where a good chunk of older people I knew were alcoholics 🤷‍♀️

I have known people who are similar to that, honestly it just becomes their normal. When they don’t drink they feel worst than when they do.

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shanelomax@reddit

When they don’t drink they feel worst than when they do.

That's alcoholism

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Sim0nsaysshh@reddit

Uhm you get used to it, from 2018 to 2023 November I drank and went out every day. 4 was a slow day.

Then I met my partner and we had a son so I drink maybe once every two weeks now

I miss the people not the alcohol

But some days would be tough if I was out till 3 and had work the next day.

I'm 39 for reference

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thorpie88@reddit

Height of my issues I was knocking back at least 80 cans a week and sometimes into triple digits. At the end I was just speedrun drinking and polish off 8-10 cans in a couple hours and pass out.

Inevitable-Plan-7604@reddit

Don't forget an expert on complex international affairs

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invincible-zebra@reddit

Don't forget a weed enthusiast / expert.

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AndyTheSane@reddit

I read the last word as 'juggling'. How did you know?

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iPon3@reddit

I have a hangover right now, I was drinking alone in my bedroom last night, I should slow down

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Ruu2D2@reddit

This .me and my husband are wedding furnale drinkers .we only drink at big events. So like once year

The scary ones are when people drink a bottle of vodka a day, every day. And sadly it's more common than you'd think.

The recommended limit that no one should be exceeding is 14 units a week, which is less than 1.5 bottles of wine, or 7 pints of beer, or 14 shots of spirits (25ml each, so 350ml in total, people are drinking 1L bottles!).

Perhaps we have less people drinking than we did before, but we do have a lot of heavy drinkers, and most evening socialisation is based on drinking alcohol.

We need to stop normalising alcoholism. It does no good for the drinker or those around them.

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idlewildgirl@reddit

I can't really drink any more due to medication but I did used to drink quite a lot when socialising over the weekend. Don't miss it at all now tbh.

I never used to drink at home at all and I am always a bit shocked at the amount of people I see on social media going through a bottle of wine etc every single night. I bet they feel like pure shit all the time

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Albertjweasel@reddit

Reddit is the wrong place to ask this

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Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit

English people love a good drink. It will never change imo.

Can remember a funny joke at work. I was marking off drinks orders for the Christmas party.

My boss emailed to order a beer and I replied no worries mate, youre down for an orange juice. Bastard! He muttered in his office as if he'd blindsided. What's wrong another senior manager replied 🤣🤣🤣

It was too funny. Did that on a few people..they all laughed

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Deep_Banana_6521@reddit

I think this always depends on the definition of alcoholism and people's view of alcohol. I think there is a difference between habitual drinkers, binge drinkers, heavy drinkers and alcoholics. I think a person can be an alcoholic and not drink alcohol for years at a time because of how their mind and body react to the effects of alcohol.

I found working in hospitality for many years you meet a lot of high functioning alcoholics because of the pace and stress of the industry, as well as the exposure to discounted and sometimes free alcohol and anti-social working hours. Chefs and bar staff who would fill all their free time, as well as some working time consuming alcohol because they were so overexposed to it for so long that their body almost requires it to not feel ill. Which I think happens as a result of frequent binge drinking at an early age. They drink to get drunk, then over time they drink alcohol just for the sake of it and they have associated alcohol consumption with a feeling of relaxation, so in order to trick their mind into relaxing, they self medicate with alcohol. Additionally, a lot of alcoholics are people who have normalised the idea of receiving their daily calorie intake from alcohol, which is why you see a lot of late-stage alcoholics with serious mental health issues, problems with their internal organs, their skin, their speech etc even when they are clean and sober.

I wouldn't class people who have a beer every day on the way home from work as an alcohol, even if it's every day out of habit, I wouldn't class somebody who drinks a bottle of wine a night as an alcoholic. I would if over the course of 2 weeks it went from half a bottle, to a bottle, to 2 bottles, to 2 bottles and a bottle of whiskey, etc. because your body is addicted at that point where you are chasing your body's own tolerance.

I wouldn't class a person who has a blow out on a friday/saturday every week and gets black out drunk each time so long as it's always just on a friday/saturday. If it's Friday/saturday, then sometimes sunday, then sometimes a monday too, then sometimes a random thursday. Because the cravings for alcohol caused by their body's increased tolerance due to addiction is making them feel compelled to drink more.

I would say in my experience, a person with a cocaine habit is a very easy way to spot an alcoholic. Cocaine is rarely consumed by itself, it's generally a symptom of alcohol addiction. I do know a lot of people who talk about their cocaine habit quite proudly and downplay the reason why they need cocaine to function on the regular, and I know there's definitely a large portion of people, including young people who are consuming cocaine more so than when I was young in the early 2000s.

I think with the growth of social media and people having to be accountable for what they say/do now more than ever, younger people will 100% be downplaying their dependance on alcohol compared to how people used to. So if you see images of students stumbling out of parties and pubs at midnight after 5 beers from the 00s, you'd think they were all alcoholics compared to seeing images of students at 3am in clubs with a glass of lemonade, looking fresh on social media and thinking younger people aren't drinking like they used to. You won't see the bottle of vodka in their pocket or the cocaine they've been dipping into.

I don't think people are drastically different from how they've ever been, just the way they do things changes.

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notouttolunch@reddit

I don’t find alcoholics in daily life. Plenty of people who enjoy a drink when they meet their friends. That’s all.

I do find loads of people including those who I wouldn’t expect to, to be completely besotted by cannabis though. That’s the real problem. They think it’s totally normal to use mind changing drugs. They then have the cheek to criticise alcohol!

In my daily life, I find the second to be the one that causes me most issues too.

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Massively. My wife is a funeral arranger, and a LOT of the deaths she sees of people in their 40's and 50's are due to alcohol related conditions. More than once accompanied by a very angry, grieving partner that is struggling to accept what they've "done to themselves", and struggling to explain to the family who didn't realise the deceased had a problem.

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Daveddozey@reddit

Translation: not interested in accurate data, only annecdotes that support my puritan beliefs

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Kazizui@reddit

Translation: not interested in accurate data, only annecdotes that support my drinking

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imminentmailing463@reddit

No. Though it depends what your definition of 'widespread' is. But personally, no I wouldn't say alcoholism is widespread.

I think Reddit can tend towards a rather abstemious view of alcohol consumption. But personally I wouldn't say genuine alcoholism is widespread in the UK.

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Kazizui@reddit

No. Though it depends what your definition of 'widespread' is

I think it also depends what your definition of 'alcoholism' is. People tend to think of themselves as not alcoholic because they're not as bad as a person who does x, where x is the next step up on the severity scale. I'm not an alcoholic because I don't drink in the morning. I'm not an alcoholic because I don't drink every day. I'm not an alcoholic because I don't keep going until I vomit and pass out. I'm not an alcoholic because I don't wake up in a skip. And so on and so on.

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DownrightDrewski@reddit

Yeah, there are definitely a lot of different levels of alcoholism. I don't drink until the evening, I also have no issue stopping once I get to a point I feel good.

I'm also very aware that I feel like shit, especially in the afternoon coming up to the point where I allow myself to start drinking.

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Kazizui@reddit

No judgement, but if you're at that stage you might be able to use it as motivation to stop, should you desire to do so. I never considered my drinking problematic (not compared to those guys, right?) but I reached a stage where I'd wake up in the night to take a piss and for a brief moment I wouldn't recall if I'd had a bottle of wine or not, but by the time I'd reached the bathroom I'd remember. I distinctly recall the moment of realisation; if I had, I'd feel disappointed. If I hadn't, I'd feel pleased. Later I had to knock it on the head due to a prescription that shouldn't really be mixed with alcohol, and I think it was made a lot easier by recognising that I was naturally heading in that direction anyway, as indicated by feeling disappointed every time I drank.

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DownrightDrewski@reddit

I've been trying to reduce with a view to stop, I'm well aware that it's a problem.

The difficult thing is alcohol lowers your inhibitions, and I often end up just saying "fuck it, one more won't hurt".

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Kazizui@reddit

That's why I fully stopped. Took me a while to come to terms with it, but I wasn't good at moderating. So with my prescription I can consume a small amount of alcohol occasionally as long as I don't binge or drink frequently, but it's easier to just not drink at all. NA beers are pretty excellent these days imo, which helps.

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HawaiianSnow_@reddit

I think it probably depends on where you stay. Life is bleak in large parts of the country, which encourages people to look for cheap escapes. Consider Scotlands drinking laws compared to England, for example.

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marshallandy83@reddit

where you stay

Not anymore. 2010 prior, absolutely

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banedlol@reddit

More of a binge drinking culture problem.

I always found it odd that when someone passes out from drinking we draw a cock on their forehead, but if you'd passed out from anything else it would be taken seriously.

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Super-Rhubarb-5690@reddit

Most people I know over 45/50 drink daily

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Fowl_Eye@reddit

If you're dependant on it like you need it to function then I'd say no it's not widespread. Doesn't mean it's not there though but as a habit, fun or just a generally a good time with your mates? 100%. I think a lot of us are good at not letting the alcohol consume us.

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r-nicola@reddit

Since you’re looking for personal views - no. Most of my friends don’t drink much, a few cocktails/some wine with friends once a week or so and the occasional birthday night out. But I don’t know anyone who drinks consistently in the house. So from my personal experience, no, I don’t think it’s widespread.

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HardAtWorkISwear@reddit

I quit drinking in 2022, and only then did I really see just how baked into our culture alcohol is. This doesn't mean we all have drinking problems, but a large number of our social events center around alcohol in some form.

It does worry me to know that my family has a large number of alcoholics, probably genetic, and my brother's partner's personality is 'glass of wine on a weeknight'. I'm worried for my niece, but I don't know how to address it without insulting her or coming off preachy and subsequently being ignored.

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Psittacula2@reddit

Underlying a lot of substance abuse is fundamentally some form of MALADAPTIVE FACTOR(S):

* Broken family or community social background causes underlying mental illness

* Some people small minority do have a genetic tendency but many more in the above “underlying trauma” category

* Incompatible lifestyle and environmental conditions which are imbalanced and lead to stress in turn leading to substance abuse

* Negative habit adoption as a consequence of any of the above and cultural paucity where drink is not ritualized eg with meals in company and only on set days eg loss of religion vs rise in materialism is simple trend of cultural impact.

* Harsher Climate and lack of conventional methods to alleviate this will increase alcoholism.

As for the UK, the question is more relevant with respect to these causes than it is with an arbitrary statistical measure of above or below a given target.

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Early-Intern5951@reddit

yes, as a german with british partner its a clear yes. The whole "you call this a drink?" culture is embracing alcoholism to an extend i`ve only seen in sailor bars during the eigthies. Being mocked fo not wanting more than one or two pints honestly never happens to me anywhere else. I am a one pint man. Would not drink two liters of squash or coke in one sitting either. Here saying "common, ave another one" seems to be the standard answer when i say i`m good. Often the next one still lands on my table. I probably would just drink a tea if the social pressure wasnt there, but ok. Same with the friendly "keep up will you?" when the second pint is placed right next to my barely touched first one. No. I wont "keep up"! Maybe i dont get a third when i ignore the second... dont want to be rude. Oh, my host is already back at the bar. gotta hurry.

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Natural_Access4745@reddit

People drink far more than you expect/they admit too. Depends how you define alcoholism, but a lot of people drink too much and have an issue with alcohol. I used to work in a drug and alcohol service, I have seen this with my own eyes

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littletorreira@reddit

I'm not a great sample but my dad died of alcoholism in his 60s. Like died of internal bleeding from alcohol wearing away his intestines died of alcoholism.

I'm in my late 30s now and I have more than one close friend who is an alcoholic. I have plenty who enjoy booze in more quantity than their GP would like but could walk away tomorrow if needed.

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Natural_Access4745@reddit

Sorry to hear about your dad

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littletorreira@reddit

It was a long time ago. But like it happens.

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skippygo@reddit

I think there's an attitude that the recommended max limits from the likes of the NHS is unrealistically low for no good reason, too. I certainly used to think in the back of my mind when filling in those forms about how much you drink "I certainly don't drink a lot but this is telling me I do, it must be bollocks".

Actually I was drinking far more than was healthy and I just didn't really understand or accept the limits that were set out. I thought of them as the fantasy of some prudish doctor somewhere, or maybe the limit for *any* adverse effects, but double or triple certainly wouldn't lead to much of an impact on me, right?

Looking back it seems so obvious, but I think this attitude is really common among the British public. The idea that you shouldn't really have more than 5-6 pints a week, spread across no fewer than 3 individual days of drinking, seems absolutely insane to someone who is conditioned to drink a couple of pints most nights and 5-10 at the weekends.

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Natural_Access4745@reddit

Yeah, they definitely set the 14 units limit a lot lower on purpose to try and get people to drink less. Not sure if it works though.

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skippygo@reddit

I think you've completely missed my point. I think the 14 units limit is actually a sensible limit, but to someone who drinks a lot more than that, it seems ridiculously low. That gives the perspective that the NHS is being ridiculous so they just ignore the limit altogether.

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Natural_Access4745@reddit

Oh right, yes I get you now. Yeah I sort of agree with that. I do think realistically 14 units is very much in the low side, but yeah that makes sense and people will just think the guidelines are a load of rubbish

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miketyson240@reddit

There’s no education about alcohol - all your ever taught at school is not to smoke a spliff, and not to try that pill.

When in fact most pure drugs are perfectly safe to consume, it’s prohibition and the dealers cutting drugs that causes death.

Whereas EVERYONE drinks alcohol, and sadly people thinks it’s completely fine and normal to get smashed constantly, simply because it’s legal.

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Brilliant-Access8431@reddit

When in fact most pure drugs are perfectly safe to consume, it’s prohibition and the dealers cutting drugs that causes death

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JustInChina50@reddit

In America during the prohibition people would make moonshine and put literally anything in it

No.

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miketyson240@reddit

Ok buddy

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Natural_Access4745@reddit

Yeah absolutely, it's harm reduction, you would know exactly what is in the drugs, overdoses and health problems would go down massively, plus it would cut out a lot of the big drug dealers. Educate people on drugs also and bring in a lot of tax like alcohol does.

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miketyson240@reddit

So many alcoholics would become the fattest stoners

And if u ask me I would rather be with someone who has smoked a lot of weed, than someone who has had 10 pints.

What is Cake? Well, it has an active ingredient which is a dangerous psychoactive compound known as dimesmeric andersonphosphate. It stimulates the part of the brain called Shatner's Bassoon. And that's the bit of the brain that deals with time perception. So, a second feels like a month.

There’s no education about alcohol

simply because it’s legal

There is some education, but I think the main issue is glorification.

I do not drink alcohol at all, but I am indifferent to drinkers or places where people drink. I even prefer the atmosphere where people are tipsy to an extent, if it is social, so there is some buzz around. However, from my perspective, what I see is that getting plastered is glorified, laughed about, encouraged, and ignored. Puking in the streets is not an uncommon sight, and people collapsed in public spaces are not rare. Issues in clubs, bars, and pubs are frequent. All this occurs because moderation is nearly frowned upon; people go out with the intent of getting smashed. At home, drinking until just before bed is normal for many, and nobody questions it. People even encourage it or post about it as if it were something pleasant to discuss.

Natural_Access4745@reddit

Easy done. Could have 4 pints, 4 times a week which puts your way over the recommended limit, but doesnt sound much

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Throwawaythedocument@reddit

I was shocked cause I'll often go 2-3 weeks without drinking, or just having a quiet beer or glass of wine with a film, but then one social group I'm in like go hard for birthdays

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Natural_Access4745@reddit

Yeah can soon rack up 30 units on a night if you're not careful

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07budgj@reddit

The answer is probably somewhere between less than Reddit thinks but more than the average person thinks.

Anecdotally, as someone whos in London and part of a sports club, wow it does really seem like alot of people have an issue. But when you then look at the percentages of people who go out, and then drink to excess vs those who dont partake, its not so clear.

General trends in the UK seem to suggest we are drinking less than we used to.

Part of the problem is the way the NHS defines problem drinking/alcoholism etc. Current evidence seems to point out that any drinking is bad for you, and that going over the limit even by a small amount reguarly is dangerous.

However if you tried to explain this to most people they wouldnt believe you, and tbh can totally understand why.

The big change I've seen is that there are less public alcoholics in my life nowadays, but more people with drinking issues that are hidden.

I also cant really blame people for having a vice, there are loads of others that are just as harmful if not moreso. Bit of a everyones got a problem issue in life.

Non drinker.

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sullcrowe@reddit

I know a few people who have their life in order, seem happy enough, hold down jobs, ferry kids about etc....who drink every day.

I'm not holier than thou but don't touch a drop Mon-Thurs, then graze on a Friday/Saturday night (having a few over a few hours, without getting properly pissed), maybe a couple on a Sunday afternoon.

They'll think nothing of doing a bottle of wine or a few beers every night.

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MrBiscuits16@reddit

Everyone has different opinions of what is problematic drinking. I personally think more than once a week is a problem. Others think it's okay to drink daily if it's only a few beers.

But my view is yes, alcoholism is extremely widespread. Most people that think they don't have a problem are on a trajectory to a problem.

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TheCarnivorishCook@reddit

"however it looks like generation Z at least is cutting down on drinking due to a combination of personal preferance/health concerns/money"

Its cheaper drugs...

Alcohol and Tobacco are tax,

It certainly did for me. I went from the stereotypical weekend binge drinker.. I'd not touch a drop all week and then go out and drink to excess all weekend with my friends when I was younger.

As I got a little older and I was working, stopping in the local for a pint or two on the way home from work with colleagues became the norm. At first maybe once or twice a week, before too long it was every day. I'd still go out and binge drink all weekend with my friends.

As I got older and settled down with a Mrs. and had a child etc. the pub stops on the way home and weekends out on the piss with the boys became less viable so it turned to a couple of bottles of beer once or twice a week at home, maybe a few mates would call round on a Friday or Saturday evening for a quiet few.

Before long I was buying 4 or 5 pint bottles of strong lager every night of the week, I wasn't even inviting mates over anymore. It wasn't about socialising, I just wanted to get drunk. That soon turned in to a half litre of vodka because it was cheaper and got me drunk faster.

I spent around 4 years living like that until it all came to a head with the wife. She was fed up, I was either in work or I was drunk, there was no in between and she gave me the ultimatum; it was her or the drink.

It was then I realised I was truly a functional alcoholic. I was holding down a good job, turning up on time, performing well etc. but the second I clocked off I couldn't bear to not have a drink. I found myself doing things like walking to the shop to get milk.. picking up 4 cans and downing them around the corner before I walked back home. Inevitably getting caught over and over - how she didn't end up leaving me I don't know and it took a long time with a lot of relapses to actually leave it behind for good.

It took around 2 months before I felt normal again after finally knocking it on the head and I realised that I'd just got used to constantly either being drunk or hungover and I'd forgotten when feeling truly normal was like. I'm now going on three years totally sober with no regrets about it, although it has changed my social life quite a bit.

Socially, it's still tough, there are groups of friends I have that I just don't get invited out with anymore because I don't drink and all their social endeavours revolve solely around drinking.

My son plays rugby and the social drinking culture that comes with that I find incredibly hard to deal with nowadays.

Works Christmas parties, wakes after funerals, wedding parties etc. are all events I avoid like the plague nowadays because until you stop drinking you don't realise how all of these events revolve solely around getting drunk.

I think so many people are in the position I was in and either refuse to acknowledge it or just don't see it as an issue but it definitely is. That's without even touching on cocaine which goes hand in hand with the drinking for the vast majority nowadays and is a huge issue in and of itself.

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60sstuff@reddit

As someone who works in a pub. We have regulars that will easily run up a tab of around £70-£100 a day. Alcohol is definitely given a bit too much of a free pass and I say that as someone who drinks about 4 pints a day

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surreyade@reddit

I worked with a bloke that would drive to the pub and sink four pints in his lunch hour, after work he’d go to the same pub, have another six and then drive home. His commute was 40-50 miles iirc.

12 pints a week is excessive? The NHS guidance isn’t super meaningful: of course, less is better but it’s frankly absurd that women and men have the same guidance of 14 units.

I think, if I don’t have a hangover, I’m good. That’s massively impacted by how late I drink, how much I eat, how much water I drink, how slow I drink …

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GettingTherapissed@reddit

I am a recovering alcoholic, and when I started attending AA meetings recently I was genuinely stunned by how many people were there - My second meeting had approximately 150 people. This was on a Thursday in Central London, and it's not always representative of how many people attend, but it was quite sobering (badum tss) that everyone there had suffered badly enough from their drinking that they'd made the choice to go to a meeting. It took me years of self abuse and shame to get to that point, it's not something you do on a whim.

In addition, I think a lot of people who drink do so to an unhealthy degree, or in unhealthy ways. It's possible to drink problematically without having what would be described medically as Alcohol Use Disorder - using alcohol to self medicate for social anxiety, PTSD etc is very common, especially among men.

It's my personal experience that the vast majority of people who drink appear to do so relatively responsibly. Of course, it's also possible that people are lying en masse - alcoholics go to incredible lengths to hide their addiction, and it's a tremendous source of shame for most of us.

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Fit-Vanilla-3405@reddit

As an American living in the UK - I would characterise it more as a binge drinking issue.

Alcoholism is a serious issue and while binge drinking is too, it’s not the same.

I’ve seen 50 year olds piss themselves and fall asleep on the ground in the street with 10 friends laughing and cheering and I’m sure that dude goes home to a job and a wife and kids and doesn’t have a shot first thing in the morning to keep himself sane.

It’s the idea of completely getting insanely and utterly wasted to a vomit/no speaking/fall down level as a means of successfully enjoying yourself that I think is so widespread.

I’ve watched a 43 year old woman (same age as me) drink 2.5 bottles of wine, by herself, in one sitting at a WORK do! Just wild in my mind.

Also, train drinking will always baffle me.

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Exactly this! I don't need a reason to say no to alcohol, it's enough that I just don't feel like having a drink. It's not a personal insult.

Two examples I think illustrate it well. When we're out with some family friends, if it's a weekend and lunch the other mum will straight away order a glass of wine like it has to be done. I think to myself that if we're out with kids, and even thought the establishment sells wine, it's not needed at 1pm on a Saturday. The other is that my in-laws used to, at first, be really concerned when I said no thanks to a drink. Now they know that it's just me and I don't drink much, but at first they were worried that I was upset or they were bad hosts.

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NSFWaccess1998@reddit

Dark, wet, grey ans coldish for much of the year, especially up North and in Scotland. Very little else to do aside from drink in many places especially getting off work as cafes are closed after 4/5. Easy/low barrier to access activity so everyone in the group can enjoy it.

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Metal_Octopus1888@reddit

Very little else to do aside from drink? I don't know, go for a walk? Cycle? Swim? Read a book? Play a sport? Learn an instrument? Probably tons more. Save money wasted on alcohol and put it to good use, sod hanging around with drunks at the pub and do something that'll improve your mental and physical wellbeing instead.

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Beneficial-Metal-666@reddit

Shame you're being downvoted, but I agree with you in a non-aggressive way. I lived in Scotland for 10 years and yeah, the weather's shite for most of the year. But that's also where I kicked my drinking habit.

I guess in my case it helped that I was a bit of a hermit to begin with. Covid barely impacted me at all in that regard. I spent more time online gaming and picked up new hobbies like crocheting and unless it was literally raining sideways outside, I went for daily walks which was a boon to my MH as well. Over time I picked up more hobbies and nowadays there'd be no room for alcohol in my life at all, I already lack free time to do the things I want to do! But in the beginning when I stopped drinking I had tons of free time. I was bored, agitated, anxious and restless. I just had to grit my teeth and deal with it. It got easier.

That said, I don't think there's anything wrong with having a pint (or 6) at the pub with your mates, it's only if it becomes excessive and starts having a negative impact on your life. Alcohol was definitely negatively impacting me, which is why I stopped drinking. But if you're one of the lucky ones who can drink in moderation, I say carry on.

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HirsuteHacker@reddit

Yeah let me go for a nice relaxing walk/swim/cycle around my Thatcher-fucked grim Northern town filled with feral kids on dirt bikes

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Andries89@reddit

I don't think it's more widespread than in other western European nations from what I see and hear. Most alcoholics these days are functioning ones with jobs and a family so they tend to stay under the radar until something big happens and suddenly they're off work for months because they're in rehab. Then you have the poorest in society and the homeless who would spend their last penny on liquor and are often more visible drinkers as they day drink in public spaces

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queegum@reddit

25 years ago the answer is yes definitely. Now it seems less widespread but there's a lot more drinking done at home so hard to tell.

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Houseofsun5@reddit

Yes , sadly I have known and do know quite a few. I have been to 6 funerals now as the direct result of alcoholism and expect I have another 2 coming along in the not to distant future, they ain't t gonna change they know it's coming, one of them buried his wife from alcoholic liver failure just a couple of years ago. Once you get to 45+ the serious drinkers no matter how well they hid it start dropping like flies, it's a shame watching their still young children burying their parent far to young. Some amazing talents lost, alcohol doesn't care, it takes everything in the end.

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Ruu2D2@reddit

And then when they do try to go for help, they discover that there is actually not much help on offer, and that circles back to shame. Addiction services have been absolutely gutted in the last decade, after all very few people give a fuck about a drunk or addict, it's easy to ignore them and defund the services they need.

MD564@reddit

This is obviously extremely anecdotal, but I experience more women my own age (30s) given up drinking completely, and more men indulging in craft beer.

But for my mum's generation (60s) it seems to be the opposite, where the men aren't drinking much if at all and the women are having a couple of glasses of wine a night.

All my friends in their 20s rarely drink if at all and I think future generations will drink even less.

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DurhamOx@reddit

I don't think it's that bad at all, not compared to countries like France and Germany

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poshbakerloo@reddit

It's hard to say, from my experience I only know people who binge drink, me included! We can do weeks with not even one drink and then a random weekend have 25 units in a single night

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LimitOk5951@reddit

Yes it is! A lot of my family are alcoholic anyway but every time I join a new group I realise how widespread and normalised drinking excessively is. I personally drink maximum 2 a week. Since joining new work I can see some of the young people go out a lot but just sticking to people older, they will do all these things to be healthy but drink and vape a lot. I think it's just a coping mechanism and emphasis on having fun but by specifically getting tipsy or drunk.

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lalalaladididi@reddit

Depends what you mean by the term alcoholic.

To myself it means both a physical and mental dependency.

It takes a lot of alcohol abuse to get to that state.

What you've got in the UK are ritualistic binge drinkers. A lot of them.

Many people in the UK abuse alcohol thereby damaging their own lives and those around them.

The lines become very blurry around such people and actual alcoholics.

Addictions are for life in some form or another.

Alcoholism is an addiction.

The dots shouid join themselves now.

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H16HP01N7@reddit

Yes.

A lot of people drink way too much. In my perfect society, alcohol would be treated like people treat smoking IRL.

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Sparko_Marco@reddit

I've known lots of alcoholics in my life, family, friends, coworkers. None would admit to having a problem but it was obvious.

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Heithel@reddit

Yes. In any other country with different drinking culture Brits would easily look like alcoholics.

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mozzamo@reddit

Gen Z are wusses

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Medium-Pundit@reddit

As with all things, it’s difficult to tell and does partly depend on what stage of life people are at.

In my social circle, there are people who used to make idiots of themselves on booze who are now once-per-week drinkers, if that. You could say that British culture encourages people to abuse alcohol, but that doesn’t mean the country is full of alcoholics.

Basically I wouldn’t say I know any alcoholics personally but not sure how common my experience is.

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Affectionateballbags@reddit

There’s a lot of people justifying their drinking habits here…..

Drinking 4 or 5 days a week is a problem. The amount doesn’t even matter.

I have had to stop because I’ve spent 20 years smashing my dopamine system to bits and found myself using alcohol as a reward for nothing at all but than to “feel good” which was a false economy because it actually makes you feel terrible. If you get up every day and go to work, you might not notice this because you have “purpose” but when you’re self employed and there is a lull, I found that it’s a hell of a lot harder to stay motivated after a few drinks the day before. This is just from personal experience.

True “Alcoholism” is a disease, it’s a chemical imbalance in your body that stops you from being able to control how much you drink because your liver is not producing enough enzymes to break down the alcohol AND break down the chemical in your brain telling you to drink more. It can only do one of them and it’s the alcohol.

The UK has had a culture synonymous with drinking from when it was first invented. Anything to make living on this gloomy rock full of cunts a little more bearable

It seems to be calming down as the “kids” find more healthy ways to enjoy themselves and instead get their dopamine from social media IV drips known as smart phones and shoving Snus into their anal cavities

There are two types of people in the world. Those that can hold their drink, and those that can’t.

Don’t be a can’t.

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Remote-Accountant427@reddit

I live in a flat. Four flats on our floor 1-4. Two of the flats have alcoholics in them. Both women. In there sixties. Now & again. Ok say once a week it kicks off. They get together drinking in one of there flats next minute they are fighting in the hallway. They have both urinated in hallway. Both stagger about. One lies on the floor & has to be helped up usually by a paramedic. Police called on numerous occasions. Even though the hallway stinks of piss & booze I still feel sorry for them. Apparently not had the best of lives. Housing won’t do anything about it. They said no where else will take them. One’s been given 5 months to live as her liver is fucked. She is yellow. Did ask if one could me moved onto another floor. You know share them out a bit but no. We are stuck with them

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Crayons42@reddit

It has and always has been fairly widespread. I’ve known plenty of alcoholics over the years. Alcohol is more socially acceptable than smoking or taking drugs, it’s easily available. It’s easy to start drinking and get hooked, whilst being a “functional alcoholic”, at least for a time. The addiction we never talk about though is food. Lots of people addicted to junk food at a great cost to themselves personally.

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Delabane@reddit

I think the younger generation drink less then previous ones from 10-20 years ago. In the 2000's - early 2010's there was this "its Friday" got to get wasted type mentality.

Either due to the costs or more conscience about being healthier. I guess one of the reasons nightclubs aren't such a big thing.

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Alwayslearnin41@reddit

They're just smoking weed instead. It's cheaper and they don't get a hangover. Human beings chase highs. If people aren't drinking, it's worth considering what they're doing instead.

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DrDaxon@reddit

I think it’s a bigger issue than people realise. A lot of middle aged women for example can’t go a day without a bottle or two of wine, but will never admit to being an alcoholic, instead they’ll share “humorous” posts on Facebook about cats and wine, wine mums, my kids are why I drink hehe. On the outside many look like they’re fine, but behind closed doors they have a serious drink problem.

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Silent-Dog708@reddit

Agree

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Hungry_Caramel6169@reddit

Anecdotally I’ve found the opposite for me and my wife’s family. She comes from a big family and a few years ago we had drinks very often, now I don’t know one of us that has more than say a glass of wine a week.

We never decided to give it up, it was just like no one could be arsed anymore.

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Realistic-River-1941@reddit

Depends on definitions. I've noticed people increasingly use "sober" to mean "teetotal" rather than "not drunk", and there is a tendency towards treating as an alcoholic anyone who suggests socialising in a pub rather than sitting at home staring at a phone screen.

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Using sober in that way is an Americanism I think

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bigturkey89@reddit

I’d really only define alcoholism as someone that suffers actual withdrawal symptoms upon cessation.

I’ve not known many people actually physically addicted but I’d certainly say there are a lot of people that drink too much out there.

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Miserable-Goose-1170@reddit

According to american redditors I am buggered then.

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TeddyBearssss@reddit

T

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Ysbrydion@reddit

My mother drank a bottle of red wine every evening, sometimes more. My father, two two litre bottles of cider, or 6 to 8 cans of strong lager. It was my job in the mornings to clean up all the cans and bottles.

They would describe themselves as perfectly normal people who don't have a problem.

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Swag-3000@reddit

To an extent yeah

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Acrobatic-Emu-7380@reddit

i had many friends od and die of heroin etc but the only one to flat out die from drugs ravaging his body and his organs giving up done that before he was even 30. with alcohol. I've never witnessed any other drug do so much damage and crack, heroin, benzo and prescription drugs are all around me for decades on and off. They only kill you if your greedy ime. Alcohol, spice and benzos are a special kind of fucked up. I consider crack, heroin and weed to be pretty soft (physical addiction aside) in terms of effects and the state the leave you in in the following days when compared with those 3. And I would know. Alcohol never fails to make me feel bad. Drys you out and fogs the mind, it's so damned primitive.

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CuddlyGemsiez@reddit

T

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Cythreill@reddit

Mum's and alcoholic. Brother's ex is in AA. Had a friend who genuinely had issues when I had nights where I didn't want to drink. Have a friend who gets wasted by himself on Saturday nights. Have a friend who normalises his behaviour.

I sure know a lot of alcoholics.

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Grouchy_Conclusion45@reddit

Sadly, getting inebriated is a core part of our culture, especially here in Scotland. It's sad to see but there's no willingness to change it

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Sjmurray1@reddit

Scotland is no worse or better than the rest of the UK

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ohnobobbins@reddit

Yes. I observe a hard core of drinkers aged 50-80 who drink a lot every day and don’t regard themselves as having an issue. They are in quite specific social groups who seem to find each other and normalise the behaviour. They drink a lot at home (very nice wine) as well as at parties and the pub. I know couples who have a bar tab at the pub that is over £1k a month. It’s expensive.

Most of the people I know have really cut back in the last 10 years, apart from that hard core lot. So it’s not just Gen Z drinking less, from what I can see.

There’s definitely a ‘moment’ - around 40-45 where it becomes clear there’s a choice. Does the party carry on, or do you choose not to drink so much? I chose to cut down and I’m quite shocked at how I used to drink.

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bulls9596@reddit

I love drinking and tend to get drunk most weekends, however if I had to stop I wouldn’t have an issue and would easily be able to do so. Among lads my age (late teens/early twenties) I think it’s a result of there not being an awful lot to do so going to the pub being one of the best ways to socialise with your mates.

I also very rarely drink at home, I purely do it as a form of socialising.

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omnishambles1995@reddit

Scotland has a massive binge drinking culture from a young age, like most of the UK.

It seems to almost socially pardon actual functioning alcoholism as 'liking a drink' as well.

Drinking alone has been mentioned as a particular giveaway, but I always thought feeling the need to drink in social situations where no one else in your company is was far more of a tell. By definition, it's not sociable at that point.

Obiovsly (sic) I can research statistics

You can, but why reply on the knowledge from research and descriptive and inferential analysis by experts, when you can get a thousand misleading anecdotes from redditors?

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Little_Browniesz@reddit

W

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AutomaticInitiative@reddit

I think our cultural definition of alcoholism has a very particular image attached and it's to our detriment. People think of alcoholics of the yellow-eyed, beer-bellied sad men that are waiting in Wetherspoons for them to start serving in the morning, but it's actually much more broad than that and it leads to people resisting admitting they have an alcohol problem.

My flatmate is an alcoholic who rejects the term because of the perception while at the same time understanding that he can never drink again because he is completely unable to control his alcohol consumption. Eighteen months ago I watched him go from being teetotal to alcohol dependent over no real time at all, maybe 12 weeks, after he had a beer with a mate after they'd had a wonderful day going climbing because he thought he'd be able to handle having just one, because he's not an alcoholic, he thought just one would be fine. He couldn't just have one and now he's 10 weeks into sobriety after going to the hospital to get support for the dependency when quitting. I'm proud of him for seeking help and quitting and recognising he can never drink again, but I worry about his rejection of the label because while the dependency goes away, the addiction doesn't.

Hiding bottles of whiskey around the house, in the car, the office and needing a swig a few times a day is alcoholic behaviour.

I haven't had a drink in a long, long time but there is a very clear difference between alky and just a bit of a no-personality boozer.

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SilasMarner77@reddit

To quote my uncle:

“It’s only a drinking problem when you run out of cans.”

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datboidat@reddit

Only time I’ve got a drinking problem is when I spill it

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Some-Wolf2969@reddit

That's superb.

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Kind_Ad5566@reddit

A friend's wife drinks at least one bottle of wine per day.

She says she isn't an alcoholic.

My colleague drinks half a bottle a day.

She says she isn't an alcoholic.

Most people I know only drink at weekends.

We all claim to not be alcoholics.

My twenty something children drink one or two alcoholic drinks a month.

They aren't alcoholics.

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Abject-Direction-195@reddit

As an ex alcoholic. Five years up now, I think it really is embodied in our culture as the norm. It's really sad

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Brilliant-Access8431@reddit

It's really sad

Also, looking at the lower/moderate/higher risk levels of drinking more objectively rather than just social comparison is more helpful.

Having said that, I've known only a handful of people that would be alcoholics, but a hell of a lot more that would be in that higher risk bracket.

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Dramatic-Growth1335@reddit

I'm late 30s. Have gotten drunk at least once a week, usually twice but occasionally three times (European midweek football), since I was a teen. I have a group of maybe around 20 close friends and 2 of them have become alcoholics one recently and the other for at least 15years. I have around 10 cousins - 1 is an alcoholic.

I dont think it's widespread. I think drinking alcohol is a part of everyday normal life but as with all things moderation needs to be exercised

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GregoryIllinovich@reddit

Just tradition, but people are getting healthier. Eg. I used to drink a lot, now I just have a bottle of scotch and a few cigars on a Friday.

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Bskns@reddit

My brother in law is an alcoholic who won’t acknowledge it.

Regularly drinks crate after crate and berates his whole family during the act. It breaks all of our hearts to see the impact it’s having on my niece and sister.

My sister’s father was alcoholic (teetotal for upwards of 35 years now and doing pretty well).

I just hate to see history repeating itself.

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helenhellerhell@reddit

I'm not an alcoholic, I'm a drunk; alcoholics go to meetings, drunks go to parties.

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Monkeyspankers@reddit

Yep! I'm an alcoholic. Pretty sure of it anyway! I use to drink every night. like drink drink, 4-6 beers and a bottle of wine. I could drink a bottle of rum easily in a night. Managed to drastically reduce my intake but I still think about drinking multiple times a day, it's not healthy.

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I'm a total binge drinker even at 37. I don't drink during the week but come Friday or Saturday, I do. Zero children and happily married. That probably contributes.

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KegManWasTaken@reddit

As someone who's currently on his second gin of a Tuesday evening.

Yes.

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Penderyn@reddit

Not anymore. Used to be but my generation (millennials) seem to drink less and the generations below even less.

I think it's a problem amongst poorer folk of the boomer generation. My husband's step father is rarely sober and his mum just drinks to help her put up with it. My dad has always been partial to evening beers or whisky, he's cut down in recent years as he's had some issues but he used to drink something almost every day. My mum never drinks, but she's a rare exception.

I think there’s a startling amount of people who don’t realise they’re alcoholics because they’re functioning and don’t exhibit problematic behaviour when drinking.

Take my Grandparents for example, who share a bottle of red wine almost every night. It doesn’t get them drunk off two large glasses each. It doesn’t even modify their behaviour. However, that classifies both of them, at 10 - 12 glasses a week, as alcoholics.

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front-wipers-unite@reddit

I think a lot more people than you realise are functioning alcoholics.

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HerbTP@reddit

There are alcoholics on both sides of my family, so in my personal experience, there are lots of people who have drinking problems. Both grandads, all four of my uncles, and my dad are alcoholics. Only my grandad managed to stop drinking about 10 years before he passed away. My dad is currently sober due to a major health issue earlier in the year, but my sister tells me he is planning to drink at Christmas, so that will be the end of that... In addition, my mother dated a violent alcoholic for eight years, and he terrorised us for the whole time.

So, by my anecdotal experience alcoholism, and our drinking culture are huge problems in this country.

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ZeroCool5577@reddit

I think bad drinking habits is widespread but not full blown alcoholism

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culturerush@reddit

By the medical definition far more than people think

I don't have a puritanical view on alcohol as has been said in this thread, I drink myself

But most people who crack open a few bottles of wine a week are going over the recommended amount of units.

In the healthcare system we use the CAGE questions to identify problematic alcohol use. Answering yes to any two of these indicates problematic alcohol use;

Have you ever felt like you need to cut down on your drinking?

Have people annoyed you by criticising your drinking?

Have you ever felt guilty about drinking?

Do you ever have an eye opener drink in the morning?

Now most people think a problematic drinker is someone who hides vodka in water bottles or drinks hand sanitiser like on TV programmes.

But a huge number of the people I saw die from liver failure when I worked the wards just had wine most nights and weren't like that.

Now I don't think that means people should stop. I believe it's your body and you should have the freedom to do what you want with it. If the amount of alcohol you drink fits the definition as problematic but you don't see it that way then you've been informed and what you do with it is up to you.

I think expecting anyone who's culturally grown up with alcohol to drop it all together is unrealistic and is too focussed on the health side of it and not the other aspects of it.

But I really think people have a very poor understanding of what constitutes problematic alcohol use. Just this past week I had a patient tell me a bottle of red a night wasn't actually much is it?

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BaBaFiCo@reddit

The line is subjective and I don't know anyone that I consider to have a drinking problem. I know lots of people who drink but none are dependent or having it damaging their lives.

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Oirman@reddit

Alcoholism is rife in the UK.

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krappa@reddit

No.

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FalloutDestruction@reddit

I don't drink every day but when I do I binge. I am always smoking and I think that's because my generation was popularised off late 90s-2010s. I can't remember the last time I did an illicit drug but I know I smoke cigarettes because I did weed for a while cause it was cool. I think a lot less people in the 2030s will smoke or drink.

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Squiggles87@reddit

Alcohol-specific deaths In 2022, 10,048 people died from alcohol-specific causes in the UK, the highest number ever recorded. The rate of alcohol-specific deaths was 16.6 per 100,000 people. Scotland and Northern Ireland had the highest rates of alcohol-specific deaths in 2022.

Alcohol-specific hospital admissions In England, there were 342,795 alcohol-specific hospital admissions between 2021 and 2022, which is a rate of 626 per 100,000 people. The rate of alcohol-specific admissions was highest in the North East region and lowest in the East of England region.

Alcohol dependence In England, the rate of alcohol dependence per 1,000 people was 13.8 between 2019 and 2020.

Alcohol consumption In 2023, 49% of adults in England were drinking at low risk levels, while 11% were drinking at high risk levels. Adults aged 18 to 24 were the least likely to drink at low risk levels.

We do like to drink a lot, a small portion of people in the uk are in complete denial about being alcoholics.

However I think most people only “drink a lot” on weekends, and most normal people might have a few drinks during the week .

Whereas other countries get mildly tipsy everyday, some countries will be sipping wine at 2 o’clock most days.

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I really like this BBC panorama documentary about this topic, it does not explore alcoholism but rather excessive social drinking in the UK.

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SecurityTemporary849@reddit

I think gambling is worse than drinking, last place I worked every single bloke was having a bet on something, even for the most mundane thing they'd place a bet.

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JudgmentAny1192@reddit

Generation z ? When did We start naming generations in the UK? Why are You accepting this nonsense? Yes alcoholism is big, corporate sport and domestic violence go hand in hand with it.

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beingthehunt@reddit

Most of my friends are in their late 20s early 30s. Many don't drink at all, others have the odd binge but none drink regularly.

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Dissidant@reddit

As a country we don't have the healthiest relationship with booze, but I'm more inclined to say the underlying causes of alcoholism (and substance addiction generally) typically mental health is wide spread

Like its not just getting someone to give up its helping them get over what lead to that situation in the first place

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