
How we became the heaviest drinkers in a century - tomkwok
http://mosaicscience.com/story/peak-booze
======
abstractbeliefs
Being in wave below the author (currently in my 3rd year of University), I
think there's also something to be said for how we treat alcohol around our
children. In the UK we have a strange duality with underage drinking - in part
we accept it as unstoppable, but at the same time it has a very strong stigma
from society, at least here in Scotland.

By the time you hit 18, suddenly the reins are off, and what was once
forbidden and done in stolen hours becomes acceptable, and without fail, uni
freshers and those in college go off the rails, often developing habits that
last the better part of a decade.

My current partner is Spanish, and talks of a culture that has never made
drinking a forbidden fruit, stories of drinking at home with family, in
moderation, abound. She, and her peers, simply don't have the "you're an adult
now, DOWN IT FRESHER" attitude my Scottish peers do.

~~~
hibikir
And yet, Spaniards drink more alcohol per capita than Britons overall: Just
look at the statistics anywhere. it's just that there's less binging.

A common Spanish practice, new from the last 20 years or so, is called
'botellon': Youth, from 13-20 or so, who can't afford to drink at bars,
purchase cheap spirits or extremely cheaped boxed wine (an euro per liter or
less), go to a park, and do nothing but sit and drink. A common brew is the
foul calimocho: Empty half of a two liter bottle of Coke, and pour in a liter
of extremely cheap wine, with an aftertaste that will not outlast the bubbles.

So the kids drink with the family, and then they drink more heavily in the
park on weekends. It's not like you can blame them, given the employment
situation: 50%+ youth unemployment. Finishing university can just turn you
into a NiNi: Ni estudias ni trabajas (You do not study, yet do not have a job)

So I'd take the stories of Spaniards about our superior drinking culture with
a grain of salt.

~~~
Al-Khwarizmi
I'm from Spain and I spent a couple of years living in the UK, and I think
"the stories of Spaniards about our superior drinking culture" are actually
very true. Mind you, I'm not a chauvinist, there are very few things where
Spain can give the UK any lesson - but this, I think, is one.

Yes, alcohol consumption per capita is probably larger in Spain than in the
UK, but people mostly know their limits. The transition from social/family
drinking to "botellón" is smoother than the typical all-or-nothing transition
in the UK. The fact that it's more socially accepted also means that people
talk about drinking in a casual way, that your friends or even your family
will advise you, etc., so it's much rarer to actually get into serious health
problems or become an alcoholic.

I was a rather hardcore "botellón"-goer in the 2000s (I think "peak booze" in
Spain was more or less in the same date as in the UK), most of my friends were
too, and the largest problems anyone had were maybe throwing up and passing
out once or twice in 5-10 years of partying. In the UK on the other hand, I
met people who drank way less frequently, but the day they did, 90% of the
time they weren't able to walk home on their own. It was even worse when they
passed some stupid law forcing pubs to stop serving alcohol after 11 pm - some
people would gobble up as much booze as they could right before that time, and
in less than an hour they would be unconscious.

In general, in all the places where I've been, the pattern is the same: in
places where alcohol is socially accepted (Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece) I've
seen fewer problems with alcohol than in places where it is frowned upon (UK,
Sweden, US).

In fact, you can even see it inside Spain itself... what nationality are the
people who practice "balconing" (getting drunk and jumping off from a balcony
or window, often leading to death)? An overwhelming majority of British, with
the odd German here and there.

~~~
ZenoArrow
I was with you until "balconing". Yes, British people are more likely to drink
to excess, and I agree with you that Spain has a more relaxed drinking culture
(I've had some great nights out in Spain), but "balconing"... I have a feeling
this is like the LSD stories you hear of people who jump off high
buildings/structures because they believe they can fly. Sure, it makes for a
good news story, but it's a gross mischaracterisation of the culture and its
effects.

For what its worth, I've seen the footage of people jumping from hotel
balconies into swimming pools. You know what I've also seen? People jumping
from jagged cliff faces into the sea, and that includes people from multiple
different European countries. Here's the thing... They're the same behaviour.
It's not an alcohol thing, it's a daredevil thing.

------
bbcbasic
As a Brit of similar age, who went to uni I can totally relate to everything
and it was a very enjoyable read and a trip down memory lane.

It is very interesting to see how the drinking culture has been shaped and how
that we are sheep by partaking. Well in a way we are sheep and wolves.

Because there is something in drinking culture in the UK that is about 'egging
on' other people to drink more, so if someone who is known to drink decides to
take it easy (like just drink a bit slowly) then they are often cajoled into
drinking more.

In addition there is the social pressure of buying rounds, so the next drink
is always coming and many pints of beer all on the table at once. And you have
to buy your round or you are a cheapskate - even if you didn't drink as much
on the other rounds!

Then in the workplace there is the bonding and social cohesion you miss out on
if you abstain at work lunchtimes or functions. Drinking increases your chance
of greasing the wheels of promotion and advancement. I've worked places where
people would get drunk at lunchtime. And not always on a Friday!

I'm glad it is at the peak and now declining. Probably a good thing.

Living in Australia now. Drinking culture is definitely less but it is
certainly there. I think the fitness and coffee culture trumps it.

~~~
tajen
A London company wants to buy my business, but I've refused. It's not even
about money, because everything is negotiable (including remote office from
France), it's that at the bottom line I care for my health and abs. I want to
get as far away as possible from their drinking habits, they look old at young
age, and they'd enroll me into drinking.

~~~
samtp
Unless the company looking to buy you are professional drunks and/or alcohol
salesmen, that's an absurd way of thinking.

------
peterwwillis
Almost nobody I know under 30 has any idea why one would sip whisky. According
to them, whisky (and alcohol in general) is nasty stuff, and you drink it to
get drunk. To which I always reply: why wouldn't every strong drink consist of
vodka, then?

As an alternative, cocktails had a small resurgence in the 90s that continues
today. But most bars make their cocktails with different proportions and
different ingredients. So not only could the number of possible cocktails
reach infinity, but the number of possible locations to find a 'well made'
cocktail increases. If you want a good (or new) cocktail you're always on a
search for that new special drink.

It used to be that drinking the cheapest beer you could find in as high a
quantity as you could find made for a fun night out [for young folk]. But new
drinking establishments are tailor made to provide you a new product which
costs more money, with the promise of a more sophisticated (or at least
variable) flavor palette; the availability of flavored spirits in every bar
and club shows how hard the industry works to try and gain new customers.

All of this comes at the same time that wine is probably as cheap as it has
been in centuries. The increase in new markets such as China, Brazil and India
have created a giant global marketplace for wine, which New World growers such
as Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa and the United
States have happily provided for. We're awash in wine that is not just cheap,
but tasty, too, growing the market even more.

We have more products than ever, more choice than ever, more customers than
ever, more availability than ever, and a lower price than ever before. And
they wonder why we drink more?

~~~
voltagex_
Some people like whisky, some people don't. If they were first introduced to
Teachers, it might take them a while to find something that's a little easier
to drink neat.

------
ZenoArrow
I can also relate to this article, it's a fairly accurate assessment of
social/drinking culture in the UK at the time.

Couple of points...

"Alcohol makes many of us unpleasant: verbally abusive, angry, destructive."

That's a bit of a stretch. Yes you do get the 'angry drunk' phenomenon, but
the number of drunken fights I've seen has been relatively small. I think this
is different from place to place, there are cities where I know this is a
bigger issue, but in general people tend to be more friendly when they're
drunk.

"This generational difference isn’t just anecdotal. Young people are drinking
less frequently, and more of them are teetotal. We don’t know why: it could be
financial hardship, an increase in the proportion that don’t drink for
religious reasons, or increased time spent online."

If I had to guess, I'd say it was the rise of importance in gym culture.

~~~
InclinedPlane
Some people can be nice drunks, though they are rare. Studies have determined
that the one consistent behavioral change from being drunk, across continents
and cultures, is an increase in aggression.

~~~
InclinedPlane
It seems a lot of people are missing the point here so I'll try to clarify.

First, an increase in aggression does _not_ mean that everyone suddenly turns
into a raging asshole, it just means an increase, even a slight one, in
aggressive tendencies. Which does not necessarily mean physical aggression.
People tend to become more demanding, or more snarky, or bold, and so on.
Examples include: egging others on to drink heavily or do silly things even if
they don't want to. Even things like ragging on your friends is representative
of an increase in aggression. Such things can still be "friendly", but they
are indicative of increased aggression. And a small subset of people do get
more physically aggressive, confrontational, oppositional, etc.

A lot of this stuff is so ingrained in our culture that we don't even notice
it. We just accept that being drunk translates to being more aggressive in a
zillion subtle ways and don't even consider such things to be true aggression.

Additionally, I'm disappointed that so many people have jumped immediately to
the "my limited anecdotal experience contradicts countless scientific studies"
response. No, anecdotes are not data. Moreover, if you think about the way
your friends behave when drunk you might notice signs of increased aggression
as well, if you pay attention. I don't have any friends who get violent when
drunk, and I have many friends who are adorable drunks, but I do notice a
consistent pattern in becoming slightly more aggressive across the board. More
demanding, less charitable, etc.

~~~
ZenoArrow
I'm not saying those studies you're referring to are wrong, but I do wonder if
the way they framed their hypothesis led them to a false positive.

I agree with the 'mood amplifier' description that MLR gave before. It gives
you some temporary courage to live more boldly. With this study, did they try
and provoke a reaction from the drunk people?

I also think it misses the larger picture. For example, you mentioned about
your friends who are adorable drunks, where are the studies that measure
adorableness when drunk, or any other traits of inebriated individuals? Why
does it always have to be about the negatives?

Don't get me wrong, I totally accept that our drinking culture has some hugely
negative aspects, and I'll be glad if the upcoming generations enjoy
socialising without it, but I also believe we shouldn't rush to see it without
its merits too. Alcohol can make people do horrible things (hurting others
being the main one), but it can make people do great things too (including
being more compassionate), is this contradictory? At a stretch you could say
courage/confidence is at the centre of both.

------
jrpt
I don't know much about the correlations the article mentions (for example,
are raves really a good reason why pub attendance fell?) however, I think that
a discussion of alcohol is incomplete if it doesn't mention addiction anywhere
nor mention the fact that the majority of alcohol sales come from the top
drinkers:
[http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2014/09/25/th...](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2014/09/25/think-
you-drink-a-lot-this-chart-will-tell-you/)

So it's probably not the generation as a whole that has an abnormal
relationship, but a small minority of the generation.

~~~
gavazzy
10% of the population is drinking 10 drinks a day. That's unfathomable

------
w__m
"I wouldn’t say any of my close friends are alcoholic" tut-tut, a single
alcohol palimpsest (loss of consciousness / memory without falling asleep)
indicates "warning" phase of alcoholism. Yes, it does not necesarily mean You
will become a chronic alcoholic, but it means "controll was lost" and You are
on your way there.

------
guelo
The title should say UK millenials. I'm not part of that "we".

~~~
theoh
Please don't add fuel to the fire of HN's fastidious interference with article
titles. Of course tabloid newspapers will have titles that are aimed at their
target audience ("we"). If you have the media literacy to notice that you
aren't included in that "we", you also have the media literacy not to need the
title modified.

~~~
marssaxman
It was my first question when I saw the title: "What do you mean, 'we'? Which
'we' are you talking about?" A little more context would have been nice.

~~~
theoh
Yes, context is the magic word. Fiddling with the wording of titles, not so
much.

------
ZeroGravitas
As someone of roughly the same age, now with kids, I'm glad that the younger
generation seems a bit more sensible. Possibly a case of extra disposable
income and social attitudes needing some time to catch up to the realities of
it.

~~~
venomsnake
Or they have a better ways to get high. There are a lot of options out there
and in recent years some of them are tolerated more than before.

I think that in any generation the amount of vice is constant per capita, just
its distribution and diversity differs.

~~~
ZeroGravitas
Well, some vices are objectively worse than others. I think alcohol, despite
being legal and socially acceptable, is pretty bad for you by various metrics.
Hopefully whatever they've shifted to is better, not worse and the social
customs around it lead to less dependency and misuse.

------
sjg007
Alcohol is too cheap; especially at UK universities where it is not even
taxed! In addition all GSA events are organized around booze. The again you
have Scandinavia with high alcohol taxes that don't do much to limit
consumption apparently.

------
racl101
I pretty much stopped drinking or 99% of my drinking after I turned the legal
age (18yrs in Canada) because it wasn't fun anymore. It wasn't taboo. I
started drinking at age 16, and drank only at parties if there were fun people
around. Those 2 years are where I've done most of my drinking.

Fast forward 10 years after I turned 18, and in total, I probably consume the
equivalent of two cases of 12 bottles of beer per year, if that which averages
out to about 0.45 bottles of beer per week.

