Officials in other countries are warning about the health hazards of alcohol in any amount. Americans are still told that moderate drinking is safe. What gives?
Interesting. The US is now 37th for alcohol consumption so maybe our standards…
I do not know. We are so far down the list it took 2 screen grabs to get to the USA. I would have guessed that the USA would have been more likely to lecture on the dangers of alcohol use.
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The comments in the Times were a lots better than the lecturing tone of the actual article.
Sort of like, girlfriend, we’re not drinking for health reasons, we’re drinking to forget/ ignore our health problems.
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Freedom!!! Or, follow the $$$.
Probably the latter 
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Exactly.
Choosing to drink or not is a personal choice. But one thing I never see mentioned in these type of articles is the social aspect of “going to the pub”. Seeing friends a few nights a week over a pint or two can have good effects on one’s mental health. Have a few laughs, drink responsibly, enjoy what you like. This may not be the right choice for everyone, but it is for some.
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Life is short. Have fun!
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Alcohol is a toxin.
Any physical health attributes that one may attribute to alcohol has more to do with the substances in alcohol (think resveterol which can be found in many things like grape leaves, peanuts, berries, etc.) than the actual alcohol itself. Consider this thought experiment. Would anyone actually think there are health benefits from drinking 192 proof Spirytus vodka?
That said, as @iluvcookies said up above, there are often unsaid social/mental benefits associated with alcohol (think happy hour). But then that begs the question. Why do we feel like we need alcohol as a social lubricant to congregate and interact with other humans? Are humans really that insufferable when everyone is sober?
Bottom line is, if you enjoy a good drink, go for it. But just understand that at the end of the day, you are essentially imbibing poison.
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I drank while living in Japan almost only because it gave me a reason to be with friends. I VERY rarely drank at home alone. I’ve never had a hangover and the only time I ever drank to the level where I did something that I had forgotten the next day was the very first time I drank which was while I was in college (at a party where stupid me chose to drink sake as my first alcoholic drink.)
I drink to get drunk from the atmosphere of being with the friends I love. Take them out of the equation and I have almost no interest in drinking.
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I find many people insufferable when they are not sober.
I know my limit is 2, maybe 3 drinks over the course of a few hours, with something to eat. (I also live within walking distance of my local.)
For others it may be more or less than that.
Some don’t know their limit. Those are the ones I try to avoid.
The only benefit of 192 proof vodka is stripping paint off one’s car.
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That’s the one.
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But who is supplying that consumption?
I bet US-owned producers of alcohol are a lot higher on the profit list, which is what really drives what’s tagged good and bad.
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I find insufferable people to be insufferable whether they are sober or drunk. Now, if I’M drunk — they may be easier to deal with, but my preference is to avoid them at all cost 
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Alcohol consumption is down considerably for GenZ in the U.S. so much so there’s a wine glut and the wine industry is worried.
In any case, if you want to decrease consumption, add more taxes, just like cigarettes. Alcohol lobby will fight, especially with declines, but perhaps with current downturn, it isn’t needed but it works.
The comment above that it about $$ makes sense to me. It would be interesting to see if prices went down in the top alcohol consuming countries.
On that note, cannabis use is said to be a reason why alcohol consumption has gone down. Cannabis is or can be less expensive. Tend to use less and it takes less to get a buzz. Alcohol industry sank a lot of $$ in anti cannabis legalization laws. Apparently they figured it out.
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As others have said, there’s lots of lobbying ($$$) involved in a lot of these equations. Think mild recommendations to limit sugar, for example. Similarly, health warnings on cigarette packaging are a lot milder in the US than in some countries.
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Yeah, right. And Russia is 27th. Sure…
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Not at all. There are plenty of substances that may fit your description. Refined sugars may not be healthy, and can, eaten in excess, disable and kill. You consider sugar a toxin?
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I believe that. But how blitzed are all those countries above?
Like, WTF is going on in the Cook Islands?
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I saw that and laughed. Russia must be in the top 5 or 10 in the real world. Government stats being under reported? Home made rotgut not counted?
Not sure.
But i can personally attest to heavy drinking in 7 of the top 10.
And 6 of the next 10.
I just realized i travel to the heavy drinking nations fairly frequently.
Hmm…
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Have you ever been there? Places like Rarotonga and Aitutaki sound exotic, but they’re just remote. Young people generally leave for jobs in New Zealand as soon as they can. The reefs on Raro are poisoned so severely, only the pelagic fish are safe to eat. May subsist on the absolute worst highly processed imported foods.
The Kiwis have done a very poor job protecting the Cooks. And the chiefs of the “Canoes” can be very corrupt.
It’s surprising they don’t drink more…
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And why didn’t Iceland make the list?
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