Here is a record of my last few days alcohol consumption:
Wednesday 2 September Nil
Tuesday 1 September 1 Glass merlot
Monday 31 August 1 Champagne Cocktail
5 Glasses Puilly Fuisse
2 Glasses Remy Martin XO
Sunday 30 August Nil
Saturday 29 August 3 Glasses Pinot Grigio
Friday 28 August Nil
Thursday 27 August Nil
That is a pretty average week for me. Alcohol is among my pleasures. Like a great many people, I find it enhances good times and gives some solace in bad. I am therefore rather pleased that the European Court Advocate General has made observations thought to be generally unhelpful to the nanny state proposals of the Scottish government on minimum alcohol pricing. These proposals would not affect me, given what I drink. The proposal is a classical resurfacing of the middle class desire to regulate the behaviour of the working class. Life is tough enough. People should be allowed their small pleasures.
I have a great contempt for the anti-alcohol lobby, and particularly for the cultist doctrine that the only way to combat alcoholism is total abstinence. If alcohol were truly a physical addiction, why am I not addicted? I have had days where I drink 40 units over 24 hours. And I have periods particularly when writing where I don’t drink a thing for three or four weeks at a time. I can switch from one phase to the other, or any intermediate state, without ever the slightest shadow of a physical craving. My introspection tells me that the standard explanation of alcohol being physically addictive is impossible to reconcile with my personal experience. It is an imposed reality. Alcohol is very good for me. And it is very good for you too, whatever the do-gooders may say.
Slainte Mahth.
May I table a moratorium on “shuudaupayourface” and point out that if one finds a good activity/deal/bargain/park/shop/etc one always recommends it to others too, as a way of kindness and letting others to enjoy the same discovery/product/etc.
If anyone decides to start drinking alcohol because Craig said so, and tomorrow in the courts raise objections to having been caught drunk driving and blame Craig for it, that is really not the point Craig was making.
Alcohol is a fine product so long as it is enjoyed and not used as a pretense for latent aggression of the psychotic personalities bent on creating mayhem and unpleasantness.
However my trouble is I can’t get drunk anymore!!!! I am not kidding drinking 16 cans of strong cider and lager and still sitting there sober as judge is a travesty, and needless to point out; I cannot go back and ask for a refund because the products were naff because I did not get merry!
Anyone of the chaps or chapesses around here have any idea why is this the case?
Am I cursed or am I unusual to drink and stay sober?
Am I the only one experiencing thus, or others have similar experiences here?
“Perhaps people differ physically as well as psychologically?”
They do, vastly, both in the way they convert alcohol to acetaldehyde and how they then metabolise the acetaldehyde.
“Anyone of the chaps or chapesses around here have any idea why is this the case?”
Fedup.
Your tolerance level has gone up over the years by drinking more and more to get drunk.
How much did it take when you started drinking, to get merry?. Do you see the difference from then to now?
I would stop right now. You are wasting your money if you can’t achieve the desired effect. I am not going to frighten you, but like my kidney cancer was, it is working away there unnoticed until you find something nasty.
Change your routine.
Fedup.
You are a smart man to recognize that something is wrong.
Be smarter still and ask for help from your G.P.
Read Tony Edwards’ “The Good News About Booze”. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-News-About-Booze/dp/0956656145/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1441289828&sr=1-1
It seems that the scientific evidence overwhelmingly says that alcohol in moderation is slightly good for health. (Where “moderation” means something like a half-bottle of wine per day, up to perhaps a whole bottle – the benefits and potential harm vary somewhat with different medical conditions).
That, of course, refers only to the physical effects, and assumes that you are capable of drinking in moderation. If not, presumably the only safe course is to abstain completely.
@Robert Crawford:
“The politicians know it is addictive, as is nicotine”.
Many things are said to be addictive, but it seems likely that some people are much more addiction-prone than others. And those that are addiction-prone may get addicted to almost anything, so banning specific products or pursuits will not help them much.
Speaking for myself, I smoked moderately for three years at university in an attempt to project a cool image. (Utterly unsuccessful, by the way). I also drank a fair amount of vodka, from the same motive. When I left university I stopped smoking and drinking completely, and felt no ill effects nor any need to smoke or drink.
I don’t suppose my case is unusual.
The point made by Fred and Res Diss, namely that the physical tolerance of alcohol varies considerably between people, is unarguable.
Like Craig, I find alcohol an extremely congenial legal intoxicant when taken mostly in moderation- and very occasionally not in moderation. Instances of the latter with me are usually followed by 1 or 2 alcohol free days, during which I feel no desire whatsoever to indulge. However I know of other people whose physical reactions are radically different, and seem unable to cease boozing in large quantities for days on end, undoubtedly to the detriment of their livers.
Not everyone can drink and be merry, and survive with their health intact; those who can are lucky.
Craig,
If you want a better insight into why alcohol is, for many people, far from a harmless source of pleasure, I suggest you attend one or two Alcoholics Anonymous open meetings – special meetings which are public events at which recovered alcoholics tell their stories. Some people seem to be much more at risk of alcoholism than others; perhaps you are one of the lucky ones. It has been said that if alcohol had only recently been discovered, it would be a Class I drug.
Remember that alcohol pushes up the costs of policing, the justice system and the NHS, and you should see that curbing problem drinking, especially by young people, is a very legitimate aim for any government.
To those who say that the answer should be education, my response is that there is no reason why we should not have both education and a minimum price policy. Minimum pricing may have little effect on alcoholics, but it should reduce the incidence of young people getting drunk on ridiculously cheap alcoholic drinks, and prevent some of them progressing to full-blown alcoholism.
Not sure you have captured the right note here.
Context is all.
For various reasons I started to drink more about three years ago. I am now pretty sure I am noticing health effects.Not very serious yet , but somewhat uncomfortable and probably likely to get worse. Addiction is not the issue although I can sense that there is an anticipatory relish which is hinting at potential addictive potential.
Ernest Hemingway loved his wine but realised there was a price to pay . I think he discusses this at length in Death in the Afternoon.
At the moment I am having to re-assess my drinking, which is going to bring about social changes.
I must say that i am not looking forward to the changes but there seems little option.
You say this
But this was precisely what my parents told me about their smoking. The smoking had a dire effect on their health and was probably the single most important factor in their deaths. The smoking habit also enriched the likes of Kenneth Clarke. would you now defend smoking by suggesting it is a small ‘pleasure’.
Whatever one thinks about drugs, somewhere there is a sense of exploitation. Some people are weak and are readily exploited by people pushing whatever substance, especially the young who have the added benefit of not noticing the long term effects because they have great powers of recovery from excesses. also, more resilient individuals can be in control of whatever habit they take on, so often these people can be more tolerant or liberal in their attitude-not seeing the wider picture.
I favour taking drugs out of the hands of the less than scrupulous and controlling the price and quality, but some evidence suggests that illegality and trade is irrevocably linked. If heroin is controlled and prices set, (unless it is priced so low as to kill any illegal traffic), people will find other ways to operate. I suppose the same applies to alcohol. If Scotland had a minimum alcohol price, i suspect it would simply move into some variant of black market, or produce an increase in (say) cannabis consumption.
Alcoholism is not a pretty sight. I have seen a number of people self destruct, including a gifted musician and some very close relatives. This process is really quite distressing and destructive, of the well-being of others, not just the people who are afflicted with alcoholism.
Did you have a drink before / during penning this Craig?
I’ve met self-righteous ex-drinkers who I felt should never have stopped drinking.
Ex-smokers also rank high on that scale.
“Nobody addicted to alcohol would drink any less as a result of minimum pricing.” Well said, Fred.
An alcoholic (a very old friend) pointed out to me that everything – everything – would be forsaken before the booze was cut back. Even if it meant turning to crime in order to fund it, booze would still be consumed just as much, no matter what the price.
Do advocates of minimum pricing really think this scenario will be playing up and down the country…
Heavy-duty boozer walks into the offie. “Six litres of your finest 8.5% white cider, my good man.”
“Here you are, sir. That’ll be £7.50 instead of £5.40 today, I’m afraid. Minimum unit pricing has come into effect.”
“My goodness, that’s a complete surprise. Keep the gut-rot in that case. I’ll just rustle up a Quorn and mushroom stir-fry with basmati rice, and drink freshly liquidised carrot juice instead.”
Thanks Robert Crawford I will take heed of what you have said and will change my routine and even may visit the quack for a change and get a check up!
Glasgow University is stopping it’s drug and alcohol training course after the Scottish government withdrew funding.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/education/13413468.Glasgow_University_drugs_and_alcohol_training_course_to_close/
If you say,”I can eat, drink or anything else to a band playing”, then you have an intolerance to that thing.
Me, I have an intolerance to wheat. If I make a sliced of toast and eat it, I can’t stop until I have eaten the whole loaf. What kind of olic am I. (keep it clean).
I am not a celiac.
Fedup.
You are a hero.
Now pick up the phone and and make that appointment to see the quack.
Well done.
Let us know how you get on.
Thanks Robert Crawford I will do so today and make sure that I get to see the quack asap, before my heroism has deserted me! 🙂
You are a great guy, and there is no doubts about that Robert.
===
Fred your point is a valid one, never thought of that angle.
For those who wish to consider the relevant scientific research on this subject, this
http://www.cbtrecovery.org/AAefficacyrates.htm is a useful summary of what little research has been done into the effectiveness or otherwise of Alcoholics Anonymous. To summarise, AA has extremely poor success rates, which supports Craig’s assertion that total abstinence is NOT the only answer to alcohol problems. You might also check out some of the lengthier negative reviews of “Alcoholics Anonymous” (the book) on Amazon. Basically AA is a religious cult- as a therapy its about the most overrated in current use. Its high profile owes more to Hollywood than to any evidence for its effectiveness.
That being said, alcohol is certainly physically addictive FOR A MINORITY OF PEOPLE- much more so than heroin, in that the withdrawal symptoms from alcohol can kill you, whereas heroin withdrawal is merely very uncomfortable. (I’ve looked after people undergoing both types of withdrawal).
Craig’s main point is I think the tendency of the political class, being a subset (nowadays) of the middle class to come down much harder on working class vices than on middle class vices. You might also look at the differential sentencing in the USA for ordinary cocaine (mostly used by White people) and crack cocaine (mostly used by Black people).
Tom Welsh.
Do you have a cool image now?
Or are you just happy and confident as you are?
I assumed the min pricing would deter teenagers from drinking so much. White cider and super strength lagers are cheap and get you pissed very quickly. Middle class teens drink the stuff too. Getting kids hooked young, what better than cheap super strength lagers and ciders.
Andy Doug, SNP candidate for Renfrewshire South, has been suspended from the party amid allegations of cheating in the selection process.
Breaking news, when I signed the petition linked by Fred for th UK to accept more asylum seekers this morning it was on less than 100,000. I just looked and it is at 212,000. Must be something of a record and shows the strength of feeling that we are not taking our fair share. So glad it succeeded.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/105991
hi Pete
An excellent post about alcohol. Most people do not realise that alcohol addiction is more deadly than heroin addiction.It is worth pointing out.
Also, there are different kinds of dependency. some people are physically addicted and drink constantly, others have various degrees of social/psychological dependence, and I and Craig and probably most ‘social’ drinkers are probably on the mild-end of the scale-but are nevertheless, definitely on the scale or spectrum.
In addition, the long term effects of alcohol are often difficult to detect. Another problem is that the conditions that arise from alcohol use are really very unpleasant and tend to drag on over protracted periods of time in later years.
The other end of the scale of psychological dependency is the binger. i have a family history of alcoholism-my grandfather, my mother and a sister are /were all alcoholics. It is a condition that has caused untold damage through the generations of my family and I would rather not have had to deal with the many incidents that have arisen due to the alcoholism/alcohol abuse. I also lost a friend to alcohol and my sister’s husband also died as a result of alcohol by falling when drunk.
I am ambivalent about the subject. Liberalism and social drinking is fine and in many ways, the prohibitive approach is not helpful and I am not at all surprised about AA-although it might be a method for re-socialising people who have lost their connection to normal relationships or indeed for people with a religious background.
I was not uncomfortable with the price hike. As far as I could see it was targeted at ‘cheap’ alcohol,which is often selected by young people. I don ‘t agree that the attitude is a form of middle class control over working class people. Besides he main problem with drinking and health problems is not with the ‘working class’-it is the ‘middle classes’ that the concern is for. I am not even sure nowadays what is meant by ‘middle class’. My impression is that the drinking culture transcends ‘class’ and that alcohol related anti-social behaviour is not confined to one class.
The research suggests that the increased alcohol price DOES make a difference to levels of alcohol related disease and deaths.
You didn’t say how large the glasses were!! Some commentors on this site need to lighten up a bit…
http://9gag.com/gag/aBQ46qD/interview-with-101-year-old-hattie-mae-macdonald-of-kamloops-bc
“I assumed the min pricing would deter teenagers from drinking so much. White cider and super strength lagers are cheap and get you pissed very quickly. Middle class teens drink the stuff too. Getting kids hooked young, what better than cheap super strength lagers and ciders.”
Super strength lagers, though popular with the alcoholic, are by no means cheap because they are already taxed at a much higher rate. Minimum pricing would make them a better proposition because the higher rate of tax means they already cost around 50p a unit. The cost of lower strength lagers, less than 7.5%, will go up much more.
Another consequence of creating an artificial distinction between alcohol and drugs is that the ‘drugs’ tend to be lumped together as though they all carry the same risks. Cannabis is lumped in with heroin; cocaine is lumped in with LSD. Again this serves the purposes of the alcohol lobby – the misinformed are frightened into believing alcohol is the safe drug. Right!.
The truth is that intoxicants can vary as greatly as the individuals ingesting them. One person gets happy on wine and melancholy on whisky, while the same whisky will make another person euphoric and yet another aggressive. Cannabis can make you variously talkative, wasted, creative, giggly, paranoid, and more, depending on the strain of marijuana, your mood, and your mental make-up.
Legally restricting everybody to using the same intoxicant is as stupid as insisting everybody should listen to the same music. To take that analagy a bit further, our government is encouraging us to listen to Heavy Metal at full volume whilst banning all other genres.
Do those that claim they don’t do drugs include coffee, chiles and chocolate? Even a hot bowl of nourishing soup on a cold day causes the brain to release dopamine and endorphins just as MDMA (ecstacy) does, although admittedly in lower quantities 🙂 Face it – we all use mind altering drugs. The trick is to acknowledge that fact, recognise their various effects on each of us as individuals, and then make informed choices about where we want to be, mentally, at any given time.
Tom Welsh at 3.21
Thanks for that link!
Enough headlines to be going on with from the Institute of Alcohol Studies archives.
News archive – 2015
http://www.ias.org.uk/News/2015.aspx
Their approach is not holier than thou it should be said.
Who we are
‘IAS is a registered charity (number 1112671) aiming to educate, preserve and protect the good health of the public by:
•Promoting the scientific understanding of beverage alcohol and the individual, societal and health consequences of its consumption
•Promoting measures for the prevention of alcohol-related problems and to promote, for the public benefit, research into beverage alcohol and to publish the useful results.
IAS does not have a view on whether individuals should drink or not drink.’