health

Is drinking good for you in any way? If not, why is alcohol legal for adults?

32 Comments
By Margie Skeer

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Red wine = Good

Shochu = Possibly not so good

Tequila = Whoa

9 ( +11 / -2 )

Is alcohol consumption of any benefit to humans? If not, why aren’t we thinking about banning it forever? – Lamiah S., Kerala, India

Why are you thinking the solution to every little thing in life is the creation of a bigger state with more laws and policing and the reduction of human rights?

11 ( +14 / -3 )

There are a few options on the table as an alcohol alternative, and in the near future we may see a plethora of substances to hack into our brains pleasure centers, but it’s up to the individual to choose.

For those that don’t dig that sort of thing there’s breathwork, yoga, exercise, audio brain wave hacking, owning a dog, ice baths, zen, whatever!

As burning bush states, we are all adults. Choose according to thy temperament! Design yourself, cause we don’t need any big brother telling us what we can and can’t do. I’m fact the paternalistic types often do more harm than good! Rock on!

8 ( +10 / -2 )

An excess of anything is bad for you. You should follow the old saying, all things in moderation. While the jury is out on whether a moderate amount of wine is beneficial, the simple fact is that a moderate consumption of alcohol does not do great harm, it is enjoyable and as rational adults it is up to us to decide if we choose to indulge. Let’s be honest there are other things that cause more injury to your health, breathing in a polluted city centre does a damned sight more damage than the occasional drink.

It must ultimately be up to the individual to decide.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Even though alcohol is legal for adults, children and teens should completely avoid alcoholic beverages. 

Alchohol consumption requires maturity, the ability to hold your drink and behave responsibly. An adult is more capable of doing it than a child, hence there’s a legal age limit.

There’s nothing wrong in drinking in moderation, it’s actually shown to have positive effect on your health.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

Countries like Russia have a problem with alcohol consumption.

The bad living conditions, corruption and widespread poverty drive people to alcohol resulting in violence, debauchery and a collapse of the society.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

Alcohol is legal because we’re all adults. If you’re not hurting someone else go ahead. And if you’re hurting someone else you’ll either be arrested if it’s illegal, or lose friends/family if it’s legal. But most people can drink responsibly. I personally only drink about once a year on a special occasion, and even then only a drink or two.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Ethanol is a an embalming fluid that Humans just happen to have an enzyme which can render it less poisonous, Alcohol dehydrogenase, but still the Liver dies a little with every toot. All other alcohols will do very bad things to us almost immediately, Ethanol poisons us much more slowly. But, the question is "Why is it legal?". And the answer can be determined by just examining the American disastrous experiment known as 'Prohibition'. Want to start a revolution or create an entirely new and murderous criminal class, ban Alcohol. What made me ingest every form of Ethanol I could get my hands on as a young Marine is STILL a complete mystery to me. Now, a glass of plum wine with my sushi is all that is necessary. Perhaps it was finally becoming aware of my drunken behavior as I am the worst kind of drunk, a 'friendly' drunk, and the realization of how obnoxious that is may have ended any desire to be so. But that was long ago. Another substance took its place quite easily but now I just enjoy life as psychically naked as when I was extruded into this place. To say that alcohol ingestion is one of Mankind's most dangerous behaviors is to say what most already know, yet...and, of course, no one drinks more that they who make our laws. That may have something to do with it also.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

All addicted substances won't disappear easily because it's from medical and chemical stuffs. Alcohol and drugs will exist to save us in those fields. Ban selling them as drink products? Many young guys drink less liquors. Well, only when we live as robots, new generations have that tendency.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

It's not the drink by itself. It's the social and health impacts of heavy drinking that are the problem. This is something the article fails to address. If a person has half a dozen drinks a week it is not a health or social problem. If a person has half a dozen or more drinks daily it is a social and health problem. You don't have to be a scientist to figure that out.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

A half a dozen drinks over a twelve hour period with food, activities, or studying or reading, watching movies with friends etc., will not hurt anyone. It metabolizes.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Alcohol serves society well.

Being at the bottom of the pyramid scheme is where we are now, please don't think about it too much though.

Wash it away. Wash it away every night.

Come back tomorrow and repeat please, we need you.

Alcohol, the lubricant of society.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Is drinking good? What a question… Is working good? Sports, diving, mountain climbing, bungee jumping, flying, driving at speeds over 20km/h? Are those good or bad? Nobody can answer that as it all depends on the situation.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

If a person has half a dozen drinks a week it is not a health or social problem.

Well, not a social problem. It may be a bit of a problem for your health though: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.05.10.21256931v1.full.pdf

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

The cultural factors to alcohol consumption are really important. Compare the behavior of Japanese drunks with those in the UK. In fact compare most places with the UK! Why does excessive alcohol in the UK lead to such high levels of violence and damage? If you want to see the problem of alcohol just visit your local hospitals casualty unit on a Friday or Saturday around 11:00 pm.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

"as far as I know there’s no serious move anywhere in non-Muslim countries to ban alcohol."

Alcohol is banned in a few Indian states like Bihar and Gujarat. Gujarat is where Gandhi was from and he was big on alcohol prohibition. That is why Gujarat (where Muslims are not really liked or tolerated) has banned alcohol and is now a 'dry' state. However, there is an island Diu near Gujarat which is not a part of Gujarat state where alcohol is legal and most of the long suffering Gujarati's make a beeline for Diu to enjoy drinking on weekends and holidays.

"Is alcohol consumption of any benefit to humans? If not, why aren’t we thinking about banning it forever? – Lamiah S., Kerala, India"

I am not surprised that someone from Kerala asked this question since Kerala has been flirting with an alcohol ban on and off for a few years now. Many Keralites I know love their beers (including women) but they have to suffer because a few idiots cant hold their drink and politicians in India need an issue to politicize and create a support base for themselves.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

The one good thing that came out of Prohibition in the US was the rise of gangsters like Al Capone. Without those Prohibition era gangsters we would never have had movies like 'Untouchables' and TV series like 'Boardwalk Empire'.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Anything taken to excess is bad for you, by definition. A burger or pizza or coke now and then, if that’s your thing, won’t do you any harm if you follow a sensible, healthy diet most of the time, but will ruin your health if it’s the foundation of your diet.

Same with alcohol. A glass or two of wine with dinner or the occasional get-together with friends is one thing, drinking yourself silly day after day is quite another.

Alcohol has its place. Don’t drink and drive.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Margie Skeer, Are you a member of the Nanny State? According to PennMuseum alcohol was first consumed around 7000–6600 BCE. "Is drinking good for you in any way? If not, why is alcohol legal for adults?" We're all going to die. And if you're afraid of living, then what's the point? If you become addicted to anything, it's not a good thing. But most of us don't let our little vices become addictions. I would venture to say that a large percentage of illegal drug users are using just because it's illegal. After alcohol are you going to go after the smartphone addicts?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

As opposed to alcohol legal for whom? The Japanese government?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Whenever my japanese wife nags at me that i'm always drinking, i tell her, the bible told me to drink so of course it has to be legal!

"Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart;"

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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