Don't drink, Don't smoke, what do you do?

[jig-sore]

i've been using face-book a bit lately and I'm getting really fed up and quite embarrassed by some of the things posted.

last week my brother-in-law posted...

"yippie it's the weekend, gonna get pi~~ed"

and "nice weekend of bow coming"

this kinda crap makes me cringe and almost embarrassed to be a bloke.

now I'm not teetotal at all but i only "drink" if i go out for a meal or maybe at Christmas, i certainly don't keep the fridge stocked up full of beer. last year i probably had a total of ten cans/bottles.
each to there own and all that but i really get fed up when people look at you like some kinda freak when you say you don't drink

Don't drink, Don't smoke, what do you do?

do people really think that drinking makes them "A MAN" ??

i don't, and never have, smoked either. what in the world makes someone want to start smoking when we now know the harm they do ??

i don't believe in the usual peer-pressure crap, i've been through all that and still have never tried one single cigarette

they now have programs like booze Brittan (or something like that) on TV. do these things not make you ashamed to be human ???

we have a few topics lately about trying to give up the booze so i wondered what people "really" thought on this?

 

[Plax]

Well I don't smoke but I do drink, but very irregularly like yourself. I don't gamble either (i.e. don't place bets or do the lottery). I grew out of the going out and getting drunk scene in my very early 20's. But then I'm a bore, I set up a pension at 20 and bought a house at 23 and my idea of a good night is snuggling up on the sofa in front of the fire with some chocolate and a good girlie film or book.
That's not to say I've not had a few blips in my time, my red wine wipeout being one, but I hate being ill and that put me off drinking for nearly 18 months.

I think drinking is something that has been ingrained into the British culture and I often think people don't know how to socialise and unwind with their friends any other way. Even if you invite friends over it invariably involves drinking.

With regard to teenage binge drinking that's just a breed of its own. If it wasn't drinking it would be something else. I don't think increasing the price of alcohol would stop this. Education is the key, but some people are just thick so that won't necessarily help either.

My thoughts at the end of the day - If you want to drink - drink, but do it in moderation. If you can't moderate and "just the one" always turns onto several drinks, then seriously consider stopping.

 

[2Loose]

Some people cycle, some think they are crazy.
Some people drive, some think they are crazy.
Some people go to church, some think they are crazy.
Some people run, some think they are crazy.
Some people drink, some think they are crazy.

The only time I have any issue with anyone is when their pastimes affect my life in a negative way, in which case a law has normally been broken anyway.

 

[jig-sore]

I grew out of the going out and getting drunk scene in my very early 20's. But then I'm a bore

well Plax, your answer makes a lot of sense but it's interesting to see that you still felt the need to justify your actions by saying your a bore. why is it like this ??

i never did the "getting drunk thing". could it be that I'm the one who's not normal ???

i really cant see the attraction of drinking something that makes you loose control of yourself "i just don't get it !!!"

oh yes, and seeing a woman smoking makes me feel funny, and blokes who smoke just look like little kids trying to be hard like Clint Eastwood or something. real embarrassing

but then my parents never drank or smoked, could this be the answer ??

 

[shippers]

Increasing the price won't help- last time I drank in town- only about a month ago- I was paying round £3 for a beer. It's really not going to put people off.

There was something on the radio yesterday about a local authority wanting to charge £1000 to anyone wanting to open a new fast food outlet in a bid to reverse the obesity epidemic.
Clearly McDonalds' Billion dollar annual profit will be hit by this. Or it'll just raise a few quid for the council.

How are they going to increase alcohol prices? Taxation?
Putting the price of petrol up through increasing duty- not many people can cut the amount they drive, so all it does is increases government revenue.

 

[XmisterIS]

I used to drink a lot, now I don't touch a drop ...

I used to smoke (and schmoke) a lot, now I don't smoke anything!

The only vice I have left is sex!

Good job my GF is a nympho.

 

[Danny]

I'm far from tea total and usually have a couple of glasses of wine with my evening meal. But over the years I've always struggled to "keep up" with friends and work colleagues who are much heavier drinkers than me when we do things socially, as I've never really liked drinking large quantities of alcohol, and have found as I've got older that my body is less and less indulgent to over-indulging.

A few years ago I decided I was going to stop trying to keep up, and now when I go out with people I just pace myself and drink what I want - and often move onto soft drinks after I've had a couple of beers or glasses of wine. 99% of the people I know are absolutely fine about this, and I rarely feel under pressure to drink more than I want. More to the point, I've come to realise that plenty of other people are pacing themselves as well, and that you don't need to get wrecked every evening to have a good time.

I've also become a lot more conscious of the health risks associated with regular heavy drinking, and realise I enjoy life a lot more when I am feeling healthy and fit, than when I am struggling to get over the ill effects of over-indulging the night before.

 

[rusky]

I suppose my vice is gadgets!

This is one of the problems with alcohol... http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/4855627.Booze_Brighton_has_one_bar_for_every_84_households/

 

[onlineamiga]

I agree. Drinking doesn't make someone a Man. But it is fun to get nicely drunk every now and again. For me, its usually when there's an occasion. When I first moved out here, i was going out quite a bit. Getting wasted can lead to some funny stories to talk about. I've done a fair few things. It really is each to their own as long as they don't affect others then who cares really. January is sober month. Haven't been out once all month.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I like a drink (or several), I love getting drunk (mostly because it's usually a sign that you've got no responsibilities for the evening - or, even better, for the whole day) and one of my abiding regrets is that I didn't live in an age when everyone smoked and no one knew it was bad for us. I've given up now (three months), but I really enjoyed my rollies. I'm not bothered whether or not anyone else understands all thins, I ask only that you leave me to get on with enjoying my life how I like and I'll do the same for you.

 

[Arch]

I'm far from tea total

Whereas I am, I drink almost totally tea....

I don't smoke, never have, bar about 3 when I was a teenager. My drinking is probably below average - I tend not to have alcohol in unless I'm cooking, or really having a treat, so I only drink when out, and that's fairly rare, and I generally only drink beer in halves, and no more than 3 in an evening. Or a glass of wine with a meal. I drank more when I was a student, but mainly because I lived with people and we tended to go out to the pub, or get a bottle of wine in, which I wouldn't do alone. My father ended up an alcoholic, so I'm rather aware of my own drinking and any potentially addictive behaviour - I could happily binge on cheese, and I've got more than 17,000 posts in here....

I guess there are lots of reasons why people drink so much. At a base level of course, you get immune, so you need to drink more and more to get the same feeling. Then if it's how your mates enjoy themselves, and you haven't the wit to break the mould, you'll do it to. And getting addicted to drink is ok, in a way that other drugs aren't, so hell, why not, if all that happens is you fall over and have a headache next day? It's fun, innit. I think some people just don't have the mental faculties to fight marketing and convention, and convention is that going out for a bevy is fun, and sociable, and 'what you do'.

I'm still amazed, collecting the recycling, how much booze people get through. Cans and cans of beer, but more alarmingly, bottles and bottles, per week, of spirits and alcopop type drinks. I know I'm comparing it to me, and I'm a low bar, but seeing that headline last week about the Scots drinking 48 bottles of vodka a year (just under one a week), I though, sod that, there's households on some of our rounds getting through 2 or 3 bottles of vodka a week! Every week.

I've nothing against people drinking as much as they like, as long as they don't affect me with it. If they want to get sloshed at home, as long as they're not responsible for kids, let them. If they are out, I'd prefer it if they didn't end up running screaming down my road at midnight and throwing up on the pavement...

 

[biggs682]

have not had any alcohol for over 4 years , use to drink a bottle of red per night , no regrets to either

 

[postman]

Don't smoke like a bottle of red now and again.Choc is my downfall .

Got to enjoy somethings in life that are bad for you .

But mrspostman has decided i need to go back on my choesterol diet .I have been swigging Gaviscon .I blame the cheese,choc both of which i like .

 

[ianrauk]

Haven't smoked for 20 year now. Use to be a heavy drinker. Every lunchtime and evening. Decided to cut back in 2000 as new resolution. Decided to only drink Friday, Saturday and Sunday's. Now cut that back to only having a drink when I am out at a gig or football. Have drink in the house.. lot's of hit. But hardly ever touch it. But nice to have in to offer when people come round. Though of giving up completely, but nah... I do love a nice pint.

 

[Happiness Stan]

Sounds like you need a drink