A record low number of Americans are drinking, according to a new Gallup poll released this week. Just 54% of Americans said they consume alcohol at all.

Gallup has been tracking Americans’ drinking behavior since 1939, and their views of the health implications of drinking since 2001. For the first time, a majority of Americans – 53% – said that moderate drinking, defined as one or two drinks per day, is bad for your health.

  • Fondots@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    I enjoy drinking, I’m under no delusion that it has any physical health benefits, it’s quite literally poison.

    There’s maybe an argument for it having mental health benefits if used in moderation, but probably not any more than having any hobby or socialization would do for you, we all need to unwind somehow.

    Also, this definition of “moderate” drinking really rubs me the wrong way, one to two drinks a day really sounds to me like someone with a drinking problem.

    Not that two drinks is really a lot of alcohol, on the occasions I drink, I’ll usually have more than that, sometimes a lot more.

    But on an average week, I’m having maybe about two drinks, probably less.

    And even if I make some pretty wild overestimates about how often I go to parties or whatever and how much I drink there, I still average out to less than 2 drinks a day. More realistically I probably average out to more like ½ a drink per day.

    And like I said, I’m someone who likes alcohol. I have a fully-stocked bar at home that would put some nicer establishments to shame. For certain date nights it’s pretty much a given that my wife and I are going to kill a bottle of wine between us. I’m certainly no teetotaler.

    • darkdemize@sh.itjust.works
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      4 months ago

      I think the two drinks a day is supposed to be an average. I don’t drink every day anymore, but when I did it was almost always more than two, usually at least double that by typical serving standards. On days I do drink now, it’s still about the same amount, but it’s once or twice a week, so my average is probably around a drink a day or so.

      • iopq@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        The fuck? Nobody is having 7 drinks on friday and the same on Saturday and claiming they have two drinks a day

        • darkdemize@sh.itjust.works
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          4 months ago

          I mean, I don’t know what to tell you. I drink 5 or 6 on Friday and Saturday and don’t drink the rest of the week.

          • iopq@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            Yes, you are doing more damage than someone who only drinks two drinks a day

    • Zak@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      one to two drinks a day really sounds to me like someone with a drinking problem.

      This is typical of someone who drinks beer or wine with their evening meal. Many people who do that always do that unless they have a specific reason not to. This is not behavior most medical professionals see as problematic, though it likely has a small health impact/risk.

      on the occasions I drink, I’ll usually have more than [two drinks], sometimes a lot more.

      The US CDC describes that behavior as binge drinking.

      • Fondots@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 grams percent or above. This typically happens when men consume 5 or more drinks, and when women consume 4 or more drinks, in about 2 hours.

        By that definition, most of my drinking probably wouldn’t count as a binge. I might, over the course of a day hanging around camp or whatever, have a dozen or so drinks, but that’s spread out over almost as many hours.

        I have seen other definitions that call any day you have more than 2 a binge, and by that definition, sure, I have an occasional binge, but I don’t know if I’m a fan of that definition, it feels like there’s too many variables with body weight and metabolism and such, and of course how quickly you’re drinking, there’s a big difference between a 300lb man killing a 6 pack over the course of a day and a 100lb woman pounding them one after another, so I like how the NIAAA definition ties it to BAC.

    • the_elder@midwest.social
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      4 months ago

      America is not becoming halal. If anything, we’re trending more secular. Participation in Christianity is declining and “Other Religions” are remaining steady at around 6%, as of 2021. We’ll see if trends continue.

      • KumaSudosa@feddit.dk
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        4 months ago

        Bro no, alhamdullilah America is on the path to Jannah mashallah.

        I think it was just a joke 😂

      • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        We’ll see what happens with the crazies at the switch. They are trying to crowbar their little book club into the culture and government. I wouldn’t be surprised to see their chosen lifestyle getting unwarranted privileges (again), and even some instances where they are able to compel people to be xtians.

        Because the elites among the crazies certainly know that belief and participation in their little book club has been trending down for years now (losing about 1% of xtians a year or so for decades). Ironically, they may be doing a disservice to their numbers with their assault on Hispanics, since I wouldn’t be surprised if some of those numbers were buttressed by Catholics among Hispanics.

    • deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz
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      4 months ago

      That’s because people don’t understand statistics, or willfully misunderstand them.

      French people are less likely to die from heart failure (than, say, Americans).

      French people are more likely to drink red wine (than, say, Americans).

      Therefore drinking red wine reduces the risk of heart failure.

      Therefore drinking red wine is healthy.

      • kingofthezyx@lemmy.zip
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        4 months ago

        It’s not even that specifically, at least in my family they latched onto the “resveratrol has health benefits” study, and expanded that to “red wine is healthy”

        Like oh yeah cookies are healthy now because eggs have choline. So dumb.

    • NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io
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      4 months ago

      Wow. 140k deaths is… A lot. For a population of ~330mil that’s six times the already ridiculous US homicide rate. Stop drinking, y’all.

    • Hardeehar@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      They took the part of the wine that was healthy for you and turned it into a pill. Guess how many people wanted the pill Vs the wine lol

  • altphoto@lemmy.today
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    4 months ago

    Kombucha on the other hand is awesome. Plus some Bulgarian yogurt with L.Reuteri. all good things!

  • commander@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    I’ll drink occasionally and eat an edible occasionally. Pretty much only socially. I don’t get the people who obsessively have to explain why what they’re using recreationally is actually healthy. Been around people like that since I was a pre-teen. About middle aged now and they’re all a bunch of burnouts including the sad they missed out in their teens/early 20s that decided to dive in late 20s because they watched all the YouTube videos on the benefits. All burned out. Not just alcohol and weed. All my acid, shrooms, ketamine, 2c-i, peyote, dmt, whatever friends - damn near all of them burned out and talk like teenagers in their 30s and 40s. Most generally don’t even they’re enlightened anymore and just want to chill with drugs

    Moderation folks. Don’t make drugs your religion or personality and you won’t have early emotional burn out in life

  • Plebcouncilman@sh.itjust.works
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    4 months ago

    Would you look at that, education reducing drug use. Who would have thought? Maybe this is how we reduce the other types of drug use? Nah send them to jail.

    • yeehaw@lemmy.ca
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      4 months ago

      Nah, just elect trump and defund the education system so the alcohol industry can reign supreme.

        • Capricorn_Geriatric@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          The resources required are all agricultural, which the US actually does produce.

          The equipment required is pretty simple (so most could be sourced locally).

          What am I overlooking?

          • frunch@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            I think they were referring to the significant decrease in alcohol sales to Canada now that the tariffs are in place

  • Tollana1234567@lemmy.today
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    4 months ago

    its been well know even moderate or even low amounts of alcohol daily consumption increases risk of cancers.

  • 4grams@awful.systems
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    4 months ago

    Got too easy during Covid so I took a break. Turns out it agreed with me so haven’t had a drop since. Don’t miss it at all despite being a craft beer fan. Easy to replace and I don’t get stupid when I’ve had too much tea.

    • RagingRobot@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      There is no fertility crisis though.

      People are plenty fertile lol

      they just don’t want kids. Also since they don’t want them and are satisfied with that, not a crisis

      • KumaSudosa@feddit.dk
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        4 months ago

        Both things can be true. I think it’s something like 25-30% of younger men with sperm cells so weak they’d at least struggle greatly to procreate. Probably more due to microplastics and fastfood though, but drinking doesn’t help. Same reason there are so many allergies etc in the West

      • iopq@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        They want them, but can’t afford a nice place to raise them. It’s no wonder in places like SF the fertility rate is much lower than the national average

        If only conservative people have kids the youngest voters will lean conservative

    • commander@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      I’m of the opinion that there’s no reversing a fertility crisis until we make teenage pregnancy great again. A 25 year old has seen too much, knows too much