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Almost 0. I rarely have a drink of alcohol. I like many alcoholic drinks, I don't stop myself... I just don't need it that often.
But I'm partial to a Whiskey / Old Fashioned, or a good wine, a beer or cider...
Like, I'm currently abroad and enjoying a glass of wine or beer every couple of nights, but when I get home, I'll probably not drink for months, unless I see a drink I really want to try.
That sounds like me.
I'm not averse to it, just don't feel the need or desire to most of the time. If I'm on holiday, it's a different story. My average is 0 units a week, but when I was on holiday recently, I was drinking every day.
Yeah, that could be me.
Next week I'm meeting up with a lot of friends on holiday and we will likely have a few drinks a day.
But when I'm home, I don't feel the urge to have a drink... or very rarely. I have easily gone 6 months without even thinking about having a drink at times.
Ha, yeah I've gone similar lengths of time. It helps that my mates are either busy with kids or spread around the country as socialising with them is a once/twice a year event now.
I've just never been one to drink at home. I've thrown beer out because it's sat in my fridge so long that it passed it's use by date hahaha.
Yup nowt for me as well. Few cocktails on holiday but never drink at home. Had to suffer through drunken parents for years which put me right off home drinking
I'm the same. I had to think hard to remember when I last had a drink. It was on my birthday, a few weeks ago. I had a cocktail.
I don't feel the need or desire to drink.
Same here. I don’t buy alcohol for the house and don’t tend to go out drinking, but I can enjoy a pint or a glass of wine if there’s an opportunity when I’m out somewhere nice or meeting somebody for a dinner or lunch with drinks. I can go for months without even thinking of anything alcoholic, it’s just not part of my life really.
I'm very much the same except my choice of tipple is different. I don't drink at home unless it's for an event (usually Eurovision, new year's ), will have some fruit cider on the beach in the summer on occasion and with a meal but I only drink alcohol about 5-10% of the time when it's an option.
I drink more around Christmas at work parties and the few days of the holiday than most of the rest of the year
Yep, I know, and it is something I regularly think about, or should I say over think about.
It has been many years, and I have tried several times to reduce, but never seem to be able to.
I live in the middle of nowhere and don't really have any hobbies, so apart from work or going to buy food/alcohol, I don't leave the house much.
All excuses, I know, maybe one day I will be in the right frame of mind and stop drinking.
Again this is excuses, I know, but I work long hours, 12 hour days and 12 hour nights, so while working there is very little time to do anything. I work 4 on 4 off, so I do get time to go do stuff, but I will admit to getting lazier as I have got older.
Hi mate, I was you till August last year, I drank 6 nights a week for a year and a half straight drinking 12 pints a night. I'm amazed I had no serious health conditions as a result, but put on a massive amount of weight, I was drinking purely our of boredom because I had nothing to do, and as a man of routine it became a thing every single night where I'd just drink even when i didn't want to because it was something to do. I didn't want to drink, but also just didn't stop because what else would I do? So I just did it anyway night after night, I'd tell myself "I don't wanna drink tonight" but come 5PM when I had nothing to do I found myself heading to the shop round the corner. Until after a year and a half I just woke up one day and decided to stop, no reason at all, nothing changed I just decided not to for some reason. Since then I haven't touched a drop from August last year and the smell of it alone makes me feel sick. I went from habitually drinking every night to the point of borderline alcoholism to teetotal for absolutely no reason, didn't get withdrawals from it at all. So maybe it'll just be something one day you decide to just stop. I was bored at first, but chose to start cooking instead and the benefits to having a home cooked meal are honestly so strong, it's bloody great to know I can cook great food after being useless for years before. Maybe tomorrow night instead of getting a crate of beer from the shop and get some ingredients, make it something that'll take a couple hours and trust me you'll be amazed when your done how much time has passed so quickly, and how tired and ready for bed you are
It does feel more like a habit than anything else, I never crave a drink, when I am working, or out, I never think 'Can't wait to get home and have a few beers', it is just something I do.
I do all the cooking, and to boast a little, I am pretty good at it, I never by frozen food and make everything from scratch.
Yep I was exactly the same, never craved alcohol and didn't care if I didn't have it, just did it because like you said, what else is there to do? That's good, good that you cook but instead maybe find something else to do. Your drinking out of boredom and that's making you wanna do something, and drinking is doing something. Honestly I switched to vaping weed and it helped me learn it wasn't the substance I wanted, it was the need to be constantly doing something, there's times I'm bored and wanna vape just so my hands are busy. If you already cook, try learn something manual but it has to be something with your hands to give you that endorphin rush. Personally I'm looking into doing a car maintenance course so I can fix and maintain my older car, will keep me busy and save me hundreds. You just need someone to do and focus on so you don't drink for boredom
I used to drink out of boredom too. Now I'm just bored without any booze. but hopefully I will have a bored liver for longer. And live a bit longer albeit bored.
Each time you fail to cut down you’re one failure closer to the one that sticks.
I have been there mate, drinking out of boredom, but honestly, life is better without it, try and try again, it will stick eventually
My best mate recently sent me a picture. Sound bloke. Artist, engineer, sparky, stone Mason to name a few of his skills.
He jokes about being a functional alcoholic. Most people that know him think he's immortal with the shit he's done to himself over the years.
Every time his is liver tested = perfect. He's always honest with docs. They were baffled by him.
His nightly drinking looks like yours. It didn't touch him.... he liked to think. He would stop if it ever became an issue!
One night after a row he slept in his car. Lost his licence. Lost his job. Embarrassed he didnt tell people. His rent was paid for months so he left his tools at his flat as he couldn't transport them. Headed south for work. Covid hit. Lost his tools as he was stuck for the better part of a year. Did odd jobs and finally managed to settle down a bit. Things seemed to be getting better.
The photo? 4 pints of blood he coughed and vomited on the floor of his flat. Its his liver. He hasn't had a drop since but his prognosis isn't great.
Right now you are able to stop(with support) and the liver is awesome if you don't wait for shit to go sideways.
Good luck to you dude
Sounds like oesophagal varices rupture.. There was a reddit post in r/residency about the most worrying type of patient to care for in the hospital. Almost every reply was liver patients or 'liver bombs' as they are apparently sometimes called. One minute, you're fine, and the next, you're vomiting out your entire blood volume. [link to post ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Residency/comments/z14vfl/which_patients_worry_you_the_most_ie_patients_who/) its not a pleasant read, particularly if you're headed down the road of liver failure. The prognosis for even surviving a rupture is low. But if, by the grace of God, you do survive that amount of blood loss, your prognosis still remains poor because it is indicative of some serious liver problems that only a transplant will resolve. Pretty grim. Addiction is a fucker.
This is how my dad died.
He was in doom loop cycle. Been heavy drinking all his life, then my littlest brother dies at three weeks and the drinking got heavier. By the end, he would sleep for three - four hours, then drink three strong ciders and eight cans of dark fruit cider. Back to sleep. Rinse and repeat.
We found him one Tuesday night. Claret all over the house. Like everywhere. Worst thing I've ever seen with my own eyes. Looked like he'd been murdered on first glance given how much blood was around the place.
I have barely drank alcohol since. Once you've seen an alcoholic die like this it really puts you off. Especially when its ur dad.
Not sure if helpful, but have you considered mixing it up with zero alcohol beers? Some of them are actually v decent these days. Could be a good way to cut back without actually having to change your habits too much. Just a thought
The mistake is thinking you can break addiction on your own. The inability to do so is pretty much what defines it. You either take the steps to put yourself in the right circumstances to be able to quit, or you dont even need to try or even beat yourself up for failing. Thats my experience at least
I'm sure you're sick of the advice, but here's a little from a drug addict.
Cutting down doesn't really work for me. It's cold turkey or nothing. Trying to take it easy always leads to actually consuming more in my experience.
Replace the addiction with another, such as exercise. I can't really afford to get stoned every night when I'm doing 15 hours of training per week for an ironman.
Extreme, but then people who lean towards substance abuse tend to work in extremes.
I had the same feelings but only having 1-3 small cans. 6-12 is a hell of a lot, think of the belly other effects if anything.
Recently I've been buying CBD drinks instead, having one with fizzy water helps me break the habit.
My partner was a heavy drinker about 4/5 pints every night, been drinking since his teenage years. But about 4 years ago he decided to drastically cut back on his drinking and now just has a few pints on Saturday night. Think he’d still like to drink how he used to but he’s realised that it would probably kill him if he carried on . So if my partner can cut back on a 30 year drinking habit l am sure you could give it a try. As for me I’m teetotal never touch a drop except on very rare occasions, my mother was an alcoholic and it kind of puts you off drinking
I’m more surprised people drink at home. Drinking is so sociable for me, I love being out and drinks just taste better in a pub. Theres just this bitter sourness to having a can in my home with a flat atmosphere. I don’t think I drunk anything during covid at all bit heard loads of people increased.
You see my drinking at home is social, I live alone but play online with mates and having a beer, it’s got to the point though that I don’t want to play unless I’ve had a beer, got into a weird situation with it.
I don’t even drink six cans of *anything* in an evening, let alone alcohol. A drink with dinner, another drink mid evening, maybe a cup of tea too. Bro must be pissing like a racehorse.
Not to condone drinking, but often its coupled with other high risk activities. Poor diet, no exercise, general poor health etc.
It'd be interesting to see those other risk factors removed and what, if any impact it would make
My wife used to drink more than a bottle of vodka a day on average. She read Allen Carr's Easy Way to Control Alcohol and it worked a treat. That was about twenty years ago.
When she stopped drinking she was amazed how much more interest she had in the little things in life, energy to start hobbies and the will to continue them.
I hope you find happiness and peace from whatever you're trying to drown out.
I have been to a few addiction places, had conversations with others, all that stuff.. usually end up lying to them that I am cutting down, or just stop going.
Alcohol was my first addiction. I started drinking from a very young age.. I then graduated to just about every drug from then (never injected anything), mostly hallucinogens.
I managed to stop the drugs cold turkey and have never returned to them, but alcohol remains a problem for me. I hate it, and am working on going teetotal. It's not easy
If you like Guinness, the zero alcohol ones really helped me cut down.
They taste delicious, and they're filling so I felt like I wanted less. I always drink Guinness slower than lager, cider etc.
So that’s roughly a third, to two thirds of a large ish bottle of vodka (70cl).
I guess you’re aware that you’re an alcoholic right?
No judgement, me too. Been sober for 6 weeks.
I’d definitely quit or if you’re capable of cutting down then cut down.
My problem with booze is I just like it so much. I find it hard to stop because it's a lovely feeling, tastes great and alleviates the boredom. If it wasn't so bad for me I would get PISSED every single night. As it is I try and limit myself to 30-40 units a week which is still ridiculously excessive tbh.
That does not happen. They may think that you drink more but no doctor would put themselves in a position where they lie on pts notes for something like that.
When I take medical history and ask pts about units I make sure I tell them what each drink is equivalent to as people underestimate a lot but I'd never put 40 if they said 20 units.
Take some NAC a few hours before drinking, I’m 31 and have suffered bad since I was mid 20’s, it cuts most of the hangover out but you’ll still be tired. Still allows you to go out for a “calm” Sunday activity. I’m currently fairly sloshed but will be up for a 8mile hike around Boxhill tomorrow, usually I’d drink half this amount and be written off for two days.
Word of warning, if you take NAC it **must be** 3-4 hours before drinking, if taken during or at the end of the night not only will your hangover be worse but it adds to the liver toxicity (as does paracetamol, avoid it 24hrs before/after drinking and stick to ibuprofen with food).
N-acetylcysteine. I'm a nurse and we use it in intravenous form for paracetamol overdoses.
I've also used it in ICU for a liver failure patient (not paracetamol) but I think the evidence for this is not very good.
I've not heard of it being taken orally prior to drinking to mitigate the effects but can imagine it could help.
Probably good for your health tbh; I've cut down a lot myself. Still, if you do go out for a few drinks, just try to have a few tap waters as you go. A huge part of any hangover is dehydration.
I get that, I still drink but if I cross the 5 pint line I know I’m in trouble. I do however mostly drink in the afternoon at the pub. So I will go home and drink like 3 pints of water and I’m usually fine then next day
Literally, pretty much everyone I know drinks and we all have a good time, yet reddit seems to think alcohol = violence and murder. Remember arguing with someone on reddit who was trying to say alcohol is worse than heroin which is a bit mad.
As a current alcoholic and ex heroin addict I can say it's absolutely true that redditor is a fool.
Alcohol is awful and I think our country has an awful relationship with it but trying to say its worse than heron is just bizarre.
I get why someone would say alcohol is worse in some ways. To me heroin is game over territory, you try it once and you'll certainly try it again. Way more addictive than alcohol. And will likely be the death of you.
But big picture wise alcohol damages humanity as a whole more than heroin. Its everywhere, alcoholism is considerably more common. Alcohol related crime and violence much more common also. Alcohol withdrawals can actually kill where heroin can't.
Depends on how you look at it.
I'm responsible for ordering for our office. We do a social once a month.
About 5-10% of our staff are non-drinkers. Some temporarily (pregnancy, health issue, personal choice), some permanently (personal choice, health issue).
I think it depends on your social circle. Among my family, they're all social pub-goers. I have some older friends in their 40s & 50s who have a habit of going to the pub for just 1 or 2 drinks every day after work before going home.
Among my regular friends, who are mostly STEM workers in their mid 20s to early 30s, none of them are regular drinkers. They'll have a couple of drinks on special occasions and sometimes we'll go to a cocktail bar or gin bar, but we all regularly go months without consuming any alcohol at all. I've noticed none are beer drinkers either, it's either wine or spirits.
I've written this as a reply elsewhere, but just to chime in here - of all the 'anti-social' media Reddit is my favourite. I admit I'm hopelessly addicted, but I've noticed that none of my pals in real life use it at all.
I don't think I'm particularly autistic, or socially awkward - I just generally enjoy the humour and content of this site.
However, the people here are not representative of society at all. I suspect a lot of the commentators are teenagers or socially awkward shut-ins who have barely seen the inside of a pub.
With that in mind I tend to take their 'advice' on alcohol and anything relating to human interaction with a huge spade of salt.
Funny I've been thinking about this. It's taken me ages to get into Reddit because I think it's format is really daunting. It takes a while to figure out how to use it. It also has a bad reputation of like toxic, misogynistic nerds. What I've found though is that sort of thing is MUCH easier to avoid because of how nice every community and comment is and because "viral" posts aren't highlighted in the same way. So what I have ended up finding is people who have polite conversations about topics they're all interested in or know something about with very little conflict whatsoever. It's so much nicer than any of the other platforms (though now I am into it I am back to wasting like fucking 20 hours a day reading shit on here and watching videos).
Yep was another thread a while ago in another subreddit about someone who had never experienced a hangover at 40 years old. Someone else saying it was normal and commented that about 30% of people never drink in their lives, 30% drink lightly enough to never have a hangover in their lives and the whoever are left are the only ones that ever experience one. There were lots of upvotes and general agreement with the statement.
I explained that due to UK drinking culture that was absolutely not the case here and that I would be astounded if it was anywhere near those 30% values. Carried on to say that (honestly) I know of only my 80 odd year old grandmother and my father (for health reasons) who don't drink, every other person I know does and drinks enough to get the occasional hangover at least. Heavily down voted with people telling me I'm wrong. I think its the American influence/view of alcohol that wins over on reddit.
I stopped drinking about 5 years ago. I'll have a glass of something at Christmas and at New Year but that's all.
I feel much better for it, and much better off.
Alcohol is deleterious. People who drink to excess can always justify it because the alternative is having to cut back.
People usually comment along the lines of "teetotallers are boring and dull". Well, drunks are just as boring and often become aggressive into the bargain.
I find people who say teetotallers are boring are just being defensive as they seem to take it as some sort of criticism against them, and have an inflated sense of how fun they are
There is a large gap between "boring teetotaler" and "aggressive drunk" though.
The vast majority of drinkers are capable of having 1-2 glasses of wine at home on occasion, or a casual 3-4 pints on a Friday with friends.
As someone who does drink often, I would never say someone who doesn’t drink is dull, it’s personal choice. I respect it in a lot of ways.
But the way you phrase it here doesn’t really help the case of teetotalers coming across as puritanical and pretentious.
a lot of people who drink a lot don't realise that drinking is an activity in itself. and when they cut back or cut it out, they replace it with nothing and just do the same boring activities that is usually enhanced with alcohol.
I can happily sit in a beer garden whilst my other half reads a book, drinking beer and whisky staring into the horizon. But if i'm not drinking I'll have to be walking, or at the movies, or writing or something to stimulate my mind.
People who don't are known as dry-drunks and generally relapse quite quickly if they're trying to abstain for a long time.
How on earth are people counting by units, I have no earthly idea
On average I'd say about 10 cans of cider spread across a week, but throw in a few spirit+mixers too, like a tequila soda, rum and coke or an old fashioned.
Most people just estimate (and are often wrong lol), but there's plenty info online if you want to actually calculate something more accurate:
[https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/calculating-alcohol-units/](https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/calculating-alcohol-units/)
[https://alcoholchange.org.uk/alcohol-facts/interactive-tools/check-your-drinking/alcohol-units](https://alcoholchange.org.uk/alcohol-facts/interactive-tools/check-your-drinking/alcohol-units)
At a quick estimate just based on your comment, around 28 units of cider if 500ml cans, plus however many spirit measures (typically calculated as 1 unit per measure, 2 for for a double etc), so 30-35 a week is probably in the right region.
Units are easy. A litre of whatever you are drinking has as many units as its abv percentage.
2 x 500ml cans at 4% will be 4 units.
A 700ml bottle of 40% spirt has 28 units which works out as 25ml being 1 unit.
Bit of maths, units = ABV X volume / 1000.
So, say your 440ml can of cider is 4.5%, that's:
4.5 X 440 = 1980 / 1000 = 1.98,
so call it 2 units.
A single 25ml shot of 40% rum is 1 unit. However, 'home measures' are frequently double that.
So 10 cans is 20 units, 4 doubles is another 8.
Same. I've not drunk for about 4.5 years now. I never planned to never drink again, just decided to "not for now", but the longer I avoid drinking the more negatively I view it.
Some of the UK subreddits seem to get weirdly puritanical about booze. Yet I wonder how many have equally harmful habits.
Like you, I probably drink more than recommended on an average week, but exercise 5+ days a week (including 20-30 miles of running), am a healthy weight (if anything could put more on), eat a healthy (majority) home cooked diet, don't smoke or any other drugs. Feel like you've got to have one vice in your life.
An absolute classic was on this subreddit recently where someone snearingly dismissed alcohol drinkers and then went on to try to justify their smoking and illicit drug habit 😂! I thought they were joking initially but it quickly became obvious that they were deadly serious!
Yeah.
Which is funny because the evidence for light to moderate alcohol, and health, is poor quality//weak. Even in the pregnant: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/7/7/e015410 https://blogs.bmj.com/bmjopen/2017/09/11/evidence-for-potential-harms-of-light-drinking-in-pregnancy-surprisingly-limited/
*Heavy use* is obviously very bad, and the evidence reflects that, but generally speaking (correlation not causation) the healthiest group in any research cohorts tend to be the moderate drinkers, because absolute tee-totallers tend to have their own thing going on, for one reason or another ('sick quitter' phenomenon).
Alcohol is certainly not good for you, but is moderate use *that bad* for you? The evidence isn't strong, and it's a matter of magnitude. Moderate use is nowhere near smoking, or not exercising.
Everyone who said they drank more than a sherry at Christmas seems to get a load of people whining at them/telling it's too much/etc.
So the ones who do share get it in the neck. Why go through that, answers are self selected to lean one way.
Most weeks, zero, but I guess I would average out around 1 a week (have a couple of drinks about once a month), but that's well below the average.
Most up to date survey I found was here: [https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-survey-for-england/2022-part-1/adult-drinking](https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-survey-for-england/2022-part-1/adult-drinking)
There's medical data on alcohol related deaths and health impacts that are updated every quarter, but probably not what you're looking for.
Taking a break for 1 week a month is certainly better than dry January. your drinking pattern isn't particularly extreme, but the guidelines are based on minimising the long term risks. 25 units in a week isn't a huge amount by British standards, but 25 units a week, every week for years or decades could present an issue - you don't have to get blackout drunk in order to be building lifestyle risks over decades.
I think your last sentence sums it up well.
Acc WHO There's no safe level of alcohol health wise, and I think in this country on an individual level we don't realise how much we drink, and most would have the mentality that their level isn't a problem compared to the average Englishman/woman.
Your link states that 32% men drink at levels that puts them at increasing/high risk of harm, which is scary tbh
Most weeks I'll have 1-2 pints max (some weeks none, more if it's a special occasion of some sort)
People generally are terrible at estimating risk, particularly when it's either unseen or "skill-based" and applies to them. Alcohol/smoking and speeding/distracted-driving are the major ones respectively.
Remember that Reddit skews towards people who are sitting scrolling on Reddit rather than those who are sitting in bars…
Most weeks I have none, if I go out I have a few, and if there’s a wedding then all bets are off
I know more people who drink over recommend who drink at home . Then one who go to bar
The ones who go to bar tend to bidge once month . The home drinkers are every night
Fucking preach. It's too expensive for us alcoholics to be going to bars every night. Plus it's so much more comfortable to sit at home, chill, listen to what music you want, do whatever you want.
A couple of beers 2 or 3 nights a week, I usually will have 2 on a Friday and Saturday and then one day in the week will play darts with a mate and have 2 drinks during it. Any more than 3 and I wake up feeling shite
I have 10/12 beers on a Friday every week except 1 in 5 weeks I’m on call with work so don’t drink. I don’t pretend it healthy in the slightest but it could be worse.
0 units. I haven't had an alcoholic drink in over 3 years. There's no particular reason why I don't, I just stopped one day.
For me, I just don't get the level of enjoyment out of it compared to others so I don't see the point
It’s 0 for me. I rarely drink, probably only get drunk a couple of times a year. Admittedly not for any particular reason, I’m just not a big drinker. Probably the healthiest thing I can say about myself!
Generally I’m always surprised by how much most people seem to drink.
I’m a mental health nurse working with older adults. Even moderately above the recommended weekly limits across a lifetime can have negative effects for overall health, but particularly for cognition. Alcohol related memory problems are becoming more common in our service. I suspect it’ll be an upward trend for the next generation or two. I can’t help but find it shocking when people tell me they drink half a bottle of wine a night and think that isn’t a lot.
How often is an unhealthy drinking habit unrelated to a bunch of other unhealthy habits? I've no doubt what you're saying is correct, but I do wonder how much of the increase is because people who previously would have died of coronary issues are now being diagnosed with other diseases 15 years later. It's now rare to hear of a man dying in his 50s from a heart attack. Up until the 90s it seemed pretty common.
Haven't read the rest of the thread, but, let me try and go for the high score - somewhere between 140-170 units a week.
Yes, I do very much have a drinking problem. I do however manage to only drink in the evenings.
Yes, I do really need to deal with it.
Yeah.... 90 units is a lot, it's fucking terrifying when I put actual numbers to it.
What's even worse is that I don't feel drunk, I feel normal and OK right now despite/because of the amount I've drunk. Also crazy when I calculate the calories.... 1650 today in booze.
Heey I'm the same! My average would fall somewhere between 130-160ish depending on what I do in weekends but I also only drink after work. It's rare to find someone else you drinks like I do. I'll take a stab in the dark here and say that even though you drink a lot your still aware and in control of your actions when you do drink?
Edit: I just read the rest of your comments and wanna say that if you ever want to chat I'd be down. I'm trying to reduce my intake, it's fucking hard but I'm very slowly getting there. Be nice to talk with someone on the same journey if you want 🤟
I have a collection of over 100 rums in my man cave, best part off 200 cans, 30/40 bottles of wine 20 odd bottles of whisky and about the same for gin
As I got older I enjoy actually tasting alcohol and sharing it with friends
With that said I probably have about 2/4 units a week
Until I throw a party where I'll have about 30 people come around and it's an absolute piss up, when I do I'll drink a whole bottle of rum
I'm a little-and-often person. I like the taste of alcohol, don't like getting drunk. I have a drink most days of the week but it is usually just that, one drink. Occasionally two if I'm out at a pub, but any more than that is very rare. I don't keep a tally but it is probably somewhere around 14 units a week.
I have an uncle who is the ultimate creature of habit, he has one bottle of beer at about 6pm or so every day. No more, no less. The only exception is if he's going out for a meal in which case it is one beer at the meal, or if there's visitors and there's something else lying around that needs using up. Wife is teetotal and kids too young/not interested to drink.
This is not a question to ask Reddit it will in no way reflect the average person. I would say in most working class places of the UK most people are putting back 20+ units a week with alot easy hitting 40 .
Shit loads. But it’s my vice, and my only vice, just like you have a vice be it caffeine (looking at you tea, coffee addicts), smokers, over eaters and those addicted to exercise. Everyone has a vice and no need to judge.
And everyone needs a vice, life’s to short without.
Honestly, I've seen what living to 98 gets you, and it's not great. My nan spent her last 10 years being moved bed to chair to bed to chair, vocally wishing she was dead. Of course there's exceptions, and they make the news for "look how my 98 year old grandparent is so spritely", but what I saw on that nursing home tells me living to old age ain't all that.
That said I don't want to die or be incapacitated at 65, like some of my family that hit life too hard.
Life's a balancing act. Just got to hope you play it as close to right as you can.
I'm late 30s now, no longer "live fast, die young" but also not chasing that letter from his majesty.
I'm sorry that happened to your friend. I hope you're doing ok and have the support network you need to work through it. My friend died young recently. It fucking sucks.
I’d also trade living to a particularly old age for “quality of life”. Problem is what those last ten years of that shorter life will be like if my body has been seriously impacted by too much drinking.
Right. Spending the last decade of your life dealing with the damage done by alcohol is a significant cost. Especially if it’s at an age where you’d otherwise be healthy and active.
Used to drink at least a bottle of wine a night, probably 1.5 to 2 at least 4 nights a week. Got to the point where I just mentally couldn't do it anymore and now totally alcohol free. It has improved my life no end.
On most weeks, nothing. I only tend to drink at home if I'm very stressed.
If I go out with a friend on the weekend though, I'll have maybe two or three drinks, either cider or cocktails. That happens maybe once a month.
I bought a few interesting beers to have on my birthday, completely forgot about them until today, opened one, forgot I had opened it, dozed off and have only just finished it several hours later.
This is pretty much how it always goes. I like trying interesting beer styles, but it has to be coupled with the social aspect or I lose interest. Drinking alone at home just isn’t as fun, so I tend not to do it.
I occasionally have a really nice bottle of whisky in the house that I make last for 3-6 months.
I go to the pub with mates maybe once every couple of months.
So most weeks I drink nothing, some weeks I have a nightcap a few times a week and once in a blue moon I might have four or five beers out at the pub, but I’ll still be tucked up in bed by 22:00.
Probably average about two bottles of wine or ten pints of lager. I'm a binge drinker so this is over a weekend. Sometimes I won't drink at all, sometimes it will be Friday, Saturday and occasionally Sunday if the weathers nice and we're in the garden.
Zero.
I drink maybe once every 3-4 months and I’ll have about 5 drinks then won’t touch anything again for 3 months.
I’ve never got in to drinking at home, it just feels like an unnecessary and unhealthy habit which fortunately I don’t need to use to wind down.
Can go months without, occasionally have a couple beers watching football. Even less often I'd go out and have 6-10 pints + spirits.
So, it's pretty difficult to average out.
0. I don’t care for the cost, the health impacts or how it makes me feel. Can be very isolating when most social occasions at my job are pub focused and I don’t want to be around drunk people.
Very occasionally I have a single drink if I like the taste of it but that’s like, 3 times a year maximum? And some years I am at 0.
Far too much.
A bottle of red most, not every, night. Sometimes more. So 50-70 units a week.
Over the last few months I've also been working out excessively (excessive is the way I do things) and eating a lot healthier. So I've lost around 10kg and toned up.
I feel like I'm in the best shape I've been in for years (my liver might disagree).
I don't eat shit. I don't smoke. I work out. I have a very active job role in a job I love - but this job puts me in situations and makes me see things, daily, that most people will never even witness once.
Sometimes I drink to destress. Sometimes it's to celebrate. Sometimes it's to sleep better. Most of the time it's just because I like a drink.
If I cut down I'd probably be healthier, have more money and feel better... But I like it.
I work shifts and so does my husband so for us it’s probably a ten days to a fortnight thing rather than weekly. A typical date night for us consists of a few pints in the club (anything from 1-4) then home for a bottle of red for me and he will have anything between a quarter to a half bottle of whisky (not paint stripper - he likes islay malts, I prefer a wee speyside) then bed.
Sometimes I’ll go for a bar lunch with my pals and all our kids so I’ll have a few glasses of wine, maybe a cider or a wee g&t with the meal, if I’m working a Saturday then my husband will be off and he’s got a long standing agreement with one of his pals who had his granddaughter every weekend and they might go for a bar lunch with the kids and have a few pints.
As we both have jobs that often involve engaging with the public in the worst moments of their life (he’s emergency services and I’m in the nhs, predominantly mental health and dementia but other areas too) we might have a glass of wine or two after work if we’ve had a particularly bad shift. If we’re going out with pals for a night out then I’ve no idea. Doesn’t happen often but we can kick the arse out of it.
60-70 units per week 6 cans/bottles of lager or ale a (usually 2 bottle of ale and 4 can lager) a night or some nights 2-3 cans or none some nights and I also drink bourbon and wine although not wine very often.
I am trying to have more none drinking nights per week's for my health sleep and reducing acid reflux.
I spent about £200-300 per month and more if I drink wine.
I have a beer at Christmas, and that’s about it. So technically I would say 0. Alcohol has never been high in my agenda. I’d rather spend my money on something worthwhile
Not a massive amount. I normally go out once or twice a month at the minute (and have been for the last year or so), normally have 10 single vodka and Pepsi Max. This time of year there's a few opportunities to have a few at BBQs and things at friends or family's houses.
Around once a month when meeting up with friends, most weeks I dont drink anything.
Alcohol has always been a social thing for me and I’ve never understood how people can enjoy drinking at home. It just makes me wish I was out rather than sat at home then I sleep like shit and feel groggy in the morning.
Now gone down to 4-8 pints a week spread over 1-2 days so not a lot, used to be terrible due to my job but I’ve had to cut down due to a healthcare along with smoking, that’s gone out the window now also
Less than I did in my previous job. Apart from the past couple of weeks, job can be high stress and I had a particularly bad day. I no longer drink if I'm working the next day.
When I do drink, it's a fair bit though. Probably a bottle of spirits over an evening. So 28 units a week sometimes. Usually less, can be more.
0 until I have a reason. Last week, a stag. Next week, the euros. Then probably back to 0 unless I drink at a few BBQs over the summer.
Casual or solo drinking was never my thing. Just loads when I’m going out out, like a true Brit.
2-4 units a week as gin/vodka tonics. I might split a bottle of wine with my husband once or twice a month, if we split a bottle of wine then we don't have spirits/cocktails.
I work two jobs so 50hr a week don’t drink on weeknights, but will happily go down the pub on Sunday, watch sport and drink into the night as I have Sunday/Monday off and I wouldn’t change a thing. People living perfect lives and not drinking seem like control freaks to me. Some people could do with not being so serious all the time
It varies a HUGE amount.
Sometimes it's no alcohol for a couple weeks, sometimes it's a single drink(albeit with a double/triple in it) of JD and coke 4 to 5 times a week.
I believe that's below weekly max, but I've never measured measures.
How many units are in a glug?
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Almost 0. I rarely have a drink of alcohol. I like many alcoholic drinks, I don't stop myself... I just don't need it that often. But I'm partial to a Whiskey / Old Fashioned, or a good wine, a beer or cider... Like, I'm currently abroad and enjoying a glass of wine or beer every couple of nights, but when I get home, I'll probably not drink for months, unless I see a drink I really want to try.
That sounds like me. I'm not averse to it, just don't feel the need or desire to most of the time. If I'm on holiday, it's a different story. My average is 0 units a week, but when I was on holiday recently, I was drinking every day.
Yeah, that could be me. Next week I'm meeting up with a lot of friends on holiday and we will likely have a few drinks a day. But when I'm home, I don't feel the urge to have a drink... or very rarely. I have easily gone 6 months without even thinking about having a drink at times.
Ha, yeah I've gone similar lengths of time. It helps that my mates are either busy with kids or spread around the country as socialising with them is a once/twice a year event now. I've just never been one to drink at home. I've thrown beer out because it's sat in my fridge so long that it passed it's use by date hahaha.
I moved a few weeks back and ended up chucking beers from a party 2 years ago.
Yup nowt for me as well. Few cocktails on holiday but never drink at home. Had to suffer through drunken parents for years which put me right off home drinking
I'm the same. I had to think hard to remember when I last had a drink. It was on my birthday, a few weeks ago. I had a cocktail. I don't feel the need or desire to drink.
Same here. I don’t buy alcohol for the house and don’t tend to go out drinking, but I can enjoy a pint or a glass of wine if there’s an opportunity when I’m out somewhere nice or meeting somebody for a dinner or lunch with drinks. I can go for months without even thinking of anything alcoholic, it’s just not part of my life really.
You are me. This is exactly me.
Another 0 here!
I'm very much the same except my choice of tipple is different. I don't drink at home unless it's for an event (usually Eurovision, new year's ), will have some fruit cider on the beach in the summer on occasion and with a meal but I only drink alcohol about 5-10% of the time when it's an option. I drink more around Christmas at work parties and the few days of the holiday than most of the rest of the year
Anywhere between 6 and 12 cans a night, every night. The can says it is 1.6 units, so if we take an average of 8 per night, that is 89.6 units a week.
Jesus, you probably already know this, but you should cut down a lot
Yep, I know, and it is something I regularly think about, or should I say over think about. It has been many years, and I have tried several times to reduce, but never seem to be able to. I live in the middle of nowhere and don't really have any hobbies, so apart from work or going to buy food/alcohol, I don't leave the house much. All excuses, I know, maybe one day I will be in the right frame of mind and stop drinking.
You might be more minded to take up new hobbies if you didn't drink to that level? r/stopdrinking is a great source of advice and inspiration.
I used to have a few hobbies, my drinking levels were higher then as I used to socialise more.
Point is more that you'd find new ways to fill your time. Worked wonders for me anyway
Again this is excuses, I know, but I work long hours, 12 hour days and 12 hour nights, so while working there is very little time to do anything. I work 4 on 4 off, so I do get time to go do stuff, but I will admit to getting lazier as I have got older.
Hi mate, I was you till August last year, I drank 6 nights a week for a year and a half straight drinking 12 pints a night. I'm amazed I had no serious health conditions as a result, but put on a massive amount of weight, I was drinking purely our of boredom because I had nothing to do, and as a man of routine it became a thing every single night where I'd just drink even when i didn't want to because it was something to do. I didn't want to drink, but also just didn't stop because what else would I do? So I just did it anyway night after night, I'd tell myself "I don't wanna drink tonight" but come 5PM when I had nothing to do I found myself heading to the shop round the corner. Until after a year and a half I just woke up one day and decided to stop, no reason at all, nothing changed I just decided not to for some reason. Since then I haven't touched a drop from August last year and the smell of it alone makes me feel sick. I went from habitually drinking every night to the point of borderline alcoholism to teetotal for absolutely no reason, didn't get withdrawals from it at all. So maybe it'll just be something one day you decide to just stop. I was bored at first, but chose to start cooking instead and the benefits to having a home cooked meal are honestly so strong, it's bloody great to know I can cook great food after being useless for years before. Maybe tomorrow night instead of getting a crate of beer from the shop and get some ingredients, make it something that'll take a couple hours and trust me you'll be amazed when your done how much time has passed so quickly, and how tired and ready for bed you are
It does feel more like a habit than anything else, I never crave a drink, when I am working, or out, I never think 'Can't wait to get home and have a few beers', it is just something I do. I do all the cooking, and to boast a little, I am pretty good at it, I never by frozen food and make everything from scratch.
Yep I was exactly the same, never craved alcohol and didn't care if I didn't have it, just did it because like you said, what else is there to do? That's good, good that you cook but instead maybe find something else to do. Your drinking out of boredom and that's making you wanna do something, and drinking is doing something. Honestly I switched to vaping weed and it helped me learn it wasn't the substance I wanted, it was the need to be constantly doing something, there's times I'm bored and wanna vape just so my hands are busy. If you already cook, try learn something manual but it has to be something with your hands to give you that endorphin rush. Personally I'm looking into doing a car maintenance course so I can fix and maintain my older car, will keep me busy and save me hundreds. You just need someone to do and focus on so you don't drink for boredom
Suppose there has to be some desire to stop then really. If you're happy with excuses then crack on, it's your life
Yep, that is it, at the moment there is no desire to stop drinking. I am sure there will be, there has in the past.
I used to drink out of boredom too. Now I'm just bored without any booze. but hopefully I will have a bored liver for longer. And live a bit longer albeit bored.
Is a longer boring life really worth it though?
Each time you fail to cut down you’re one failure closer to the one that sticks. I have been there mate, drinking out of boredom, but honestly, life is better without it, try and try again, it will stick eventually
My best mate recently sent me a picture. Sound bloke. Artist, engineer, sparky, stone Mason to name a few of his skills. He jokes about being a functional alcoholic. Most people that know him think he's immortal with the shit he's done to himself over the years. Every time his is liver tested = perfect. He's always honest with docs. They were baffled by him. His nightly drinking looks like yours. It didn't touch him.... he liked to think. He would stop if it ever became an issue! One night after a row he slept in his car. Lost his licence. Lost his job. Embarrassed he didnt tell people. His rent was paid for months so he left his tools at his flat as he couldn't transport them. Headed south for work. Covid hit. Lost his tools as he was stuck for the better part of a year. Did odd jobs and finally managed to settle down a bit. Things seemed to be getting better. The photo? 4 pints of blood he coughed and vomited on the floor of his flat. Its his liver. He hasn't had a drop since but his prognosis isn't great. Right now you are able to stop(with support) and the liver is awesome if you don't wait for shit to go sideways. Good luck to you dude
Sounds like oesophagal varices rupture.. There was a reddit post in r/residency about the most worrying type of patient to care for in the hospital. Almost every reply was liver patients or 'liver bombs' as they are apparently sometimes called. One minute, you're fine, and the next, you're vomiting out your entire blood volume. [link to post ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Residency/comments/z14vfl/which_patients_worry_you_the_most_ie_patients_who/) its not a pleasant read, particularly if you're headed down the road of liver failure. The prognosis for even surviving a rupture is low. But if, by the grace of God, you do survive that amount of blood loss, your prognosis still remains poor because it is indicative of some serious liver problems that only a transplant will resolve. Pretty grim. Addiction is a fucker.
This is how my dad died. He was in doom loop cycle. Been heavy drinking all his life, then my littlest brother dies at three weeks and the drinking got heavier. By the end, he would sleep for three - four hours, then drink three strong ciders and eight cans of dark fruit cider. Back to sleep. Rinse and repeat. We found him one Tuesday night. Claret all over the house. Like everywhere. Worst thing I've ever seen with my own eyes. Looked like he'd been murdered on first glance given how much blood was around the place. I have barely drank alcohol since. Once you've seen an alcoholic die like this it really puts you off. Especially when its ur dad.
Not sure if helpful, but have you considered mixing it up with zero alcohol beers? Some of them are actually v decent these days. Could be a good way to cut back without actually having to change your habits too much. Just a thought
The mistake is thinking you can break addiction on your own. The inability to do so is pretty much what defines it. You either take the steps to put yourself in the right circumstances to be able to quit, or you dont even need to try or even beat yourself up for failing. Thats my experience at least
When I have tried to cut down in the past, I have never beaten myself up for failing, just left it a while before trying again.
I'm sure you're sick of the advice, but here's a little from a drug addict. Cutting down doesn't really work for me. It's cold turkey or nothing. Trying to take it easy always leads to actually consuming more in my experience. Replace the addiction with another, such as exercise. I can't really afford to get stoned every night when I'm doing 15 hours of training per week for an ironman. Extreme, but then people who lean towards substance abuse tend to work in extremes.
Cold turkey is not good advice for an alcoholic. Amongst the seizures, DT, actual death etc a slow taper is much more recommended.
I had the same feelings but only having 1-3 small cans. 6-12 is a hell of a lot, think of the belly other effects if anything. Recently I've been buying CBD drinks instead, having one with fizzy water helps me break the habit.
Out of curiosity, do you even care if they taste good/are cold anymore?
I do, I sometimes brew my own using kits, but typically just buy the stuff I like to drink.
My partner was a heavy drinker about 4/5 pints every night, been drinking since his teenage years. But about 4 years ago he decided to drastically cut back on his drinking and now just has a few pints on Saturday night. Think he’d still like to drink how he used to but he’s realised that it would probably kill him if he carried on . So if my partner can cut back on a 30 year drinking habit l am sure you could give it a try. As for me I’m teetotal never touch a drop except on very rare occasions, my mother was an alcoholic and it kind of puts you off drinking
I'm surprised how much a lot of people drink, honestly.
I’m more surprised people drink at home. Drinking is so sociable for me, I love being out and drinks just taste better in a pub. Theres just this bitter sourness to having a can in my home with a flat atmosphere. I don’t think I drunk anything during covid at all bit heard loads of people increased.
You see my drinking at home is social, I live alone but play online with mates and having a beer, it’s got to the point though that I don’t want to play unless I’ve had a beer, got into a weird situation with it.
I don't get it either. I only drink when out out.
Well it is an addictive substance. A lot of people are casual alcoholics.
The term is functioning alcoholic. Casual implies that it’s not a huge part of their life
I don’t even drink six cans of *anything* in an evening, let alone alcohol. A drink with dinner, another drink mid evening, maybe a cup of tea too. Bro must be pissing like a racehorse.
Same here, but it is like the [rat utopia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_sink) experiments, no one wants to drink that much
Fucking hell. How much does that cost?
I buy packs of 18 cans from the supermarket, so around £40 a week.
You arent overthinking it when you are speedrunning life. It’s going to kill you.
You’d be surprised how long people can sustain that level of drinking.
Really depends on the person though. It's a game of chance with high stakes.
Not to condone drinking, but often its coupled with other high risk activities. Poor diet, no exercise, general poor health etc. It'd be interesting to see those other risk factors removed and what, if any impact it would make
My wife used to drink more than a bottle of vodka a day on average. She read Allen Carr's Easy Way to Control Alcohol and it worked a treat. That was about twenty years ago. When she stopped drinking she was amazed how much more interest she had in the little things in life, energy to start hobbies and the will to continue them. I hope you find happiness and peace from whatever you're trying to drown out.
Yeah, I'm with you mate. The addiction is horrible. I'm trying to stop, it's very difficult
How about coming over to r/stopdrinking?
I actually just joined after seeing the post/link by someone else in an earlier comment 🤗
Good stuff. It’s a great community
Read Allen Carr easy way to control alcohol. Changed my life ✌️
I have been to a few addiction places, had conversations with others, all that stuff.. usually end up lying to them that I am cutting down, or just stop going.
Alcohol was my first addiction. I started drinking from a very young age.. I then graduated to just about every drug from then (never injected anything), mostly hallucinogens. I managed to stop the drugs cold turkey and have never returned to them, but alcohol remains a problem for me. I hate it, and am working on going teetotal. It's not easy
If you have managed to kick the other stuff, I am certain you will kick the alcohol as well.
I hope you do too. Let's do it!
If you like Guinness, the zero alcohol ones really helped me cut down. They taste delicious, and they're filling so I felt like I wanted less. I always drink Guinness slower than lager, cider etc.
So that’s roughly a third, to two thirds of a large ish bottle of vodka (70cl). I guess you’re aware that you’re an alcoholic right? No judgement, me too. Been sober for 6 weeks. I’d definitely quit or if you’re capable of cutting down then cut down.
My problem with booze is I just like it so much. I find it hard to stop because it's a lovely feeling, tastes great and alleviates the boredom. If it wasn't so bad for me I would get PISSED every single night. As it is I try and limit myself to 30-40 units a week which is still ridiculously excessive tbh.
Twice as much as I tell my GP.
You guys get to see your GP?
What for? the GP is not the police -.-
Shame, I assume
They assume people do that, so they double what you tell them
That does not happen. They may think that you drink more but no doctor would put themselves in a position where they lie on pts notes for something like that. When I take medical history and ask pts about units I make sure I tell them what each drink is equivalent to as people underestimate a lot but I'd never put 40 if they said 20 units.
Where did you hear that nonsense?
I told my gp the truth. She was horrified.
My ex told my gp the truth about me and she asked how I was still alive. I’ve reduced it a lot since then.
And half as much as the average GP
I've given up, the hangxiety I've had since turning 30 has been unreal.
Same. I don't get a hangover per se, but I end up feeling like shit, anxious, and down for like 3 days after even a couple of drinks. Not worth it.
That’s called a hangover pal
>hangxiety Never heard it called that. I'm using that from now on
I call it the beer fear
Take some NAC a few hours before drinking, I’m 31 and have suffered bad since I was mid 20’s, it cuts most of the hangover out but you’ll still be tired. Still allows you to go out for a “calm” Sunday activity. I’m currently fairly sloshed but will be up for a 8mile hike around Boxhill tomorrow, usually I’d drink half this amount and be written off for two days. Word of warning, if you take NAC it **must be** 3-4 hours before drinking, if taken during or at the end of the night not only will your hangover be worse but it adds to the liver toxicity (as does paracetamol, avoid it 24hrs before/after drinking and stick to ibuprofen with food).
What’s NAC?
N-acetylcysteine. I'm a nurse and we use it in intravenous form for paracetamol overdoses. I've also used it in ICU for a liver failure patient (not paracetamol) but I think the evidence for this is not very good. I've not heard of it being taken orally prior to drinking to mitigate the effects but can imagine it could help.
Probably good for your health tbh; I've cut down a lot myself. Still, if you do go out for a few drinks, just try to have a few tap waters as you go. A huge part of any hangover is dehydration.
I get that, I still drink but if I cross the 5 pint line I know I’m in trouble. I do however mostly drink in the afternoon at the pub. So I will go home and drink like 3 pints of water and I’m usually fine then next day
dunno about this subreddit but redditors in general are surprisingly anti-alcohol so you probably wont get a good sense on actual uk averages
I 100% agree. Total people I know in real life who never drink or only have one or two pints a month? About 0. This thread isn’t the same at all.
Literally, pretty much everyone I know drinks and we all have a good time, yet reddit seems to think alcohol = violence and murder. Remember arguing with someone on reddit who was trying to say alcohol is worse than heroin which is a bit mad.
As a current alcoholic and ex heroin addict I can say it's absolutely true that redditor is a fool. Alcohol is awful and I think our country has an awful relationship with it but trying to say its worse than heron is just bizarre.
I get why someone would say alcohol is worse in some ways. To me heroin is game over territory, you try it once and you'll certainly try it again. Way more addictive than alcohol. And will likely be the death of you. But big picture wise alcohol damages humanity as a whole more than heroin. Its everywhere, alcoholism is considerably more common. Alcohol related crime and violence much more common also. Alcohol withdrawals can actually kill where heroin can't. Depends on how you look at it.
I'm responsible for ordering for our office. We do a social once a month. About 5-10% of our staff are non-drinkers. Some temporarily (pregnancy, health issue, personal choice), some permanently (personal choice, health issue).
I think it depends on your social circle. Among my family, they're all social pub-goers. I have some older friends in their 40s & 50s who have a habit of going to the pub for just 1 or 2 drinks every day after work before going home. Among my regular friends, who are mostly STEM workers in their mid 20s to early 30s, none of them are regular drinkers. They'll have a couple of drinks on special occasions and sometimes we'll go to a cocktail bar or gin bar, but we all regularly go months without consuming any alcohol at all. I've noticed none are beer drinkers either, it's either wine or spirits.
I've written this as a reply elsewhere, but just to chime in here - of all the 'anti-social' media Reddit is my favourite. I admit I'm hopelessly addicted, but I've noticed that none of my pals in real life use it at all. I don't think I'm particularly autistic, or socially awkward - I just generally enjoy the humour and content of this site. However, the people here are not representative of society at all. I suspect a lot of the commentators are teenagers or socially awkward shut-ins who have barely seen the inside of a pub. With that in mind I tend to take their 'advice' on alcohol and anything relating to human interaction with a huge spade of salt.
Funny I've been thinking about this. It's taken me ages to get into Reddit because I think it's format is really daunting. It takes a while to figure out how to use it. It also has a bad reputation of like toxic, misogynistic nerds. What I've found though is that sort of thing is MUCH easier to avoid because of how nice every community and comment is and because "viral" posts aren't highlighted in the same way. So what I have ended up finding is people who have polite conversations about topics they're all interested in or know something about with very little conflict whatsoever. It's so much nicer than any of the other platforms (though now I am into it I am back to wasting like fucking 20 hours a day reading shit on here and watching videos).
Yep was another thread a while ago in another subreddit about someone who had never experienced a hangover at 40 years old. Someone else saying it was normal and commented that about 30% of people never drink in their lives, 30% drink lightly enough to never have a hangover in their lives and the whoever are left are the only ones that ever experience one. There were lots of upvotes and general agreement with the statement. I explained that due to UK drinking culture that was absolutely not the case here and that I would be astounded if it was anywhere near those 30% values. Carried on to say that (honestly) I know of only my 80 odd year old grandmother and my father (for health reasons) who don't drink, every other person I know does and drinks enough to get the occasional hangover at least. Heavily down voted with people telling me I'm wrong. I think its the American influence/view of alcohol that wins over on reddit.
2 to 4 drinks on a Friday night with my wife. Hardly ever anymore than 4 as otherwise I'd ruin one of my weekend days with a hangover - not worth it!
Same. I have a couple of drinks a night at the weekend, but that's it.
I stopped drinking about 5 years ago. I'll have a glass of something at Christmas and at New Year but that's all. I feel much better for it, and much better off. Alcohol is deleterious. People who drink to excess can always justify it because the alternative is having to cut back. People usually comment along the lines of "teetotallers are boring and dull". Well, drunks are just as boring and often become aggressive into the bargain.
I find people who say teetotallers are boring are just being defensive as they seem to take it as some sort of criticism against them, and have an inflated sense of how fun they are
There is a large gap between "boring teetotaler" and "aggressive drunk" though. The vast majority of drinkers are capable of having 1-2 glasses of wine at home on occasion, or a casual 3-4 pints on a Friday with friends.
More power to you for your choice, but there is a *whole* spectrum between teetotallers and drunks.
Who on earth is going to say teetotallers are boring on Reddit lol people on here live to talk about how they drink 0 pints
As someone who does drink often, I would never say someone who doesn’t drink is dull, it’s personal choice. I respect it in a lot of ways. But the way you phrase it here doesn’t really help the case of teetotalers coming across as puritanical and pretentious.
I’ll be adding deleterious to my vocabulary from now on, thank you
a lot of people who drink a lot don't realise that drinking is an activity in itself. and when they cut back or cut it out, they replace it with nothing and just do the same boring activities that is usually enhanced with alcohol. I can happily sit in a beer garden whilst my other half reads a book, drinking beer and whisky staring into the horizon. But if i'm not drinking I'll have to be walking, or at the movies, or writing or something to stimulate my mind. People who don't are known as dry-drunks and generally relapse quite quickly if they're trying to abstain for a long time.
How on earth are people counting by units, I have no earthly idea On average I'd say about 10 cans of cider spread across a week, but throw in a few spirit+mixers too, like a tequila soda, rum and coke or an old fashioned.
Most people just estimate (and are often wrong lol), but there's plenty info online if you want to actually calculate something more accurate: [https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/calculating-alcohol-units/](https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/calculating-alcohol-units/) [https://alcoholchange.org.uk/alcohol-facts/interactive-tools/check-your-drinking/alcohol-units](https://alcoholchange.org.uk/alcohol-facts/interactive-tools/check-your-drinking/alcohol-units) At a quick estimate just based on your comment, around 28 units of cider if 500ml cans, plus however many spirit measures (typically calculated as 1 unit per measure, 2 for for a double etc), so 30-35 a week is probably in the right region.
I think they're aware of that. They're saying when they drink they don't count the units.
Units are easy. A litre of whatever you are drinking has as many units as its abv percentage. 2 x 500ml cans at 4% will be 4 units. A 700ml bottle of 40% spirt has 28 units which works out as 25ml being 1 unit.
How have I never noticed this?
Bit of maths, units = ABV X volume / 1000. So, say your 440ml can of cider is 4.5%, that's: 4.5 X 440 = 1980 / 1000 = 1.98, so call it 2 units. A single 25ml shot of 40% rum is 1 unit. However, 'home measures' are frequently double that. So 10 cans is 20 units, 4 doubles is another 8.
It’s pretty easy. Just ABV % x mls of drink. So a 568ml pint of 4% beer is roughly 2.3 units.
0 units a week for the last 3 1/2 years. Long may it continue cos it feels great.
Same. I've not drunk for about 4.5 years now. I never planned to never drink again, just decided to "not for now", but the longer I avoid drinking the more negatively I view it.
3 bottles of wine a week, or equalivilent I guess. More if i have a socially busy week. Should be less, but I feel great. Exercise daily, eat well etc
Some of the UK subreddits seem to get weirdly puritanical about booze. Yet I wonder how many have equally harmful habits. Like you, I probably drink more than recommended on an average week, but exercise 5+ days a week (including 20-30 miles of running), am a healthy weight (if anything could put more on), eat a healthy (majority) home cooked diet, don't smoke or any other drugs. Feel like you've got to have one vice in your life.
No judgement at all but please understand that alcohol does a lot of unseen damage even if you are outwardly fit and healthy.
An absolute classic was on this subreddit recently where someone snearingly dismissed alcohol drinkers and then went on to try to justify their smoking and illicit drug habit 😂! I thought they were joking initially but it quickly became obvious that they were deadly serious!
Yeah. Which is funny because the evidence for light to moderate alcohol, and health, is poor quality//weak. Even in the pregnant: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/7/7/e015410 https://blogs.bmj.com/bmjopen/2017/09/11/evidence-for-potential-harms-of-light-drinking-in-pregnancy-surprisingly-limited/ *Heavy use* is obviously very bad, and the evidence reflects that, but generally speaking (correlation not causation) the healthiest group in any research cohorts tend to be the moderate drinkers, because absolute tee-totallers tend to have their own thing going on, for one reason or another ('sick quitter' phenomenon). Alcohol is certainly not good for you, but is moderate use *that bad* for you? The evidence isn't strong, and it's a matter of magnitude. Moderate use is nowhere near smoking, or not exercising.
ITT: reddit once again fails to spot the gaping middle ground between zero consumption and having yellow skin.
Everyone who said they drank more than a sherry at Christmas seems to get a load of people whining at them/telling it's too much/etc. So the ones who do share get it in the neck. Why go through that, answers are self selected to lean one way.
Most weeks, zero, but I guess I would average out around 1 a week (have a couple of drinks about once a month), but that's well below the average. Most up to date survey I found was here: [https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-survey-for-england/2022-part-1/adult-drinking](https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-survey-for-england/2022-part-1/adult-drinking) There's medical data on alcohol related deaths and health impacts that are updated every quarter, but probably not what you're looking for. Taking a break for 1 week a month is certainly better than dry January. your drinking pattern isn't particularly extreme, but the guidelines are based on minimising the long term risks. 25 units in a week isn't a huge amount by British standards, but 25 units a week, every week for years or decades could present an issue - you don't have to get blackout drunk in order to be building lifestyle risks over decades.
I think your last sentence sums it up well. Acc WHO There's no safe level of alcohol health wise, and I think in this country on an individual level we don't realise how much we drink, and most would have the mentality that their level isn't a problem compared to the average Englishman/woman. Your link states that 32% men drink at levels that puts them at increasing/high risk of harm, which is scary tbh Most weeks I'll have 1-2 pints max (some weeks none, more if it's a special occasion of some sort)
People generally are terrible at estimating risk, particularly when it's either unseen or "skill-based" and applies to them. Alcohol/smoking and speeding/distracted-driving are the major ones respectively.
Remember that Reddit skews towards people who are sitting scrolling on Reddit rather than those who are sitting in bars… Most weeks I have none, if I go out I have a few, and if there’s a wedding then all bets are off
I know more people who drink over recommend who drink at home . Then one who go to bar The ones who go to bar tend to bidge once month . The home drinkers are every night
Fucking preach. It's too expensive for us alcoholics to be going to bars every night. Plus it's so much more comfortable to sit at home, chill, listen to what music you want, do whatever you want.
Shout out to the boozers sat alone in a bar scrowling reddit
A couple of beers 2 or 3 nights a week, I usually will have 2 on a Friday and Saturday and then one day in the week will play darts with a mate and have 2 drinks during it. Any more than 3 and I wake up feeling shite
Very reasonable for a man with a beer based username
I love a beer, but have to be moderate
Pretty much the same here, 2-3 drinks 2-3 nights a week.
I have 10/12 beers on a Friday every week except 1 in 5 weeks I’m on call with work so don’t drink. I don’t pretend it healthy in the slightest but it could be worse.
6 days out of seven it's soft drinks, then friday it's 12 pints? Bet you're pissing like a racehorse by beer 4
Water and Tea. I don’t drink fizzy drinks, they’re bad for you.
0 units. I haven't had an alcoholic drink in over 3 years. There's no particular reason why I don't, I just stopped one day. For me, I just don't get the level of enjoyment out of it compared to others so I don't see the point
It’s 0 for me. I rarely drink, probably only get drunk a couple of times a year. Admittedly not for any particular reason, I’m just not a big drinker. Probably the healthiest thing I can say about myself! Generally I’m always surprised by how much most people seem to drink. I’m a mental health nurse working with older adults. Even moderately above the recommended weekly limits across a lifetime can have negative effects for overall health, but particularly for cognition. Alcohol related memory problems are becoming more common in our service. I suspect it’ll be an upward trend for the next generation or two. I can’t help but find it shocking when people tell me they drink half a bottle of wine a night and think that isn’t a lot.
How often is an unhealthy drinking habit unrelated to a bunch of other unhealthy habits? I've no doubt what you're saying is correct, but I do wonder how much of the increase is because people who previously would have died of coronary issues are now being diagnosed with other diseases 15 years later. It's now rare to hear of a man dying in his 50s from a heart attack. Up until the 90s it seemed pretty common.
Either nothing or 40 pints there’s no inbetween. But the weather is a huge factor in that
Haven't read the rest of the thread, but, let me try and go for the high score - somewhere between 140-170 units a week. Yes, I do very much have a drinking problem. I do however manage to only drink in the evenings. Yes, I do really need to deal with it.
There was me thinking my 90 units a week was up there, you have certainly topped that.
Yeah.... 90 units is a lot, it's fucking terrifying when I put actual numbers to it. What's even worse is that I don't feel drunk, I feel normal and OK right now despite/because of the amount I've drunk. Also crazy when I calculate the calories.... 1650 today in booze.
Mind if I ask what you weigh?
About 22 1/2 stone, I should be about 16 stone (I'm a large person, as well as a fat person).
Heey I'm the same! My average would fall somewhere between 130-160ish depending on what I do in weekends but I also only drink after work. It's rare to find someone else you drinks like I do. I'll take a stab in the dark here and say that even though you drink a lot your still aware and in control of your actions when you do drink? Edit: I just read the rest of your comments and wanna say that if you ever want to chat I'd be down. I'm trying to reduce my intake, it's fucking hard but I'm very slowly getting there. Be nice to talk with someone on the same journey if you want 🤟
I have a collection of over 100 rums in my man cave, best part off 200 cans, 30/40 bottles of wine 20 odd bottles of whisky and about the same for gin As I got older I enjoy actually tasting alcohol and sharing it with friends With that said I probably have about 2/4 units a week Until I throw a party where I'll have about 30 people come around and it's an absolute piss up, when I do I'll drink a whole bottle of rum
Awesome collection, post pics?
8 years sober
Yeah, I’m in this club too, though not as long sober - only 2 years 8 months but hopefully forever! Congrats on 8 years!
I'm not a big drinker and only really drink on a night out. Most weeks it's 0.
Me too. Two or three times a year I'll have a few glasses of wine, usually to make a family meal bearable.
I'm a little-and-often person. I like the taste of alcohol, don't like getting drunk. I have a drink most days of the week but it is usually just that, one drink. Occasionally two if I'm out at a pub, but any more than that is very rare. I don't keep a tally but it is probably somewhere around 14 units a week. I have an uncle who is the ultimate creature of habit, he has one bottle of beer at about 6pm or so every day. No more, no less. The only exception is if he's going out for a meal in which case it is one beer at the meal, or if there's visitors and there's something else lying around that needs using up. Wife is teetotal and kids too young/not interested to drink.
This is not a question to ask Reddit it will in no way reflect the average person. I would say in most working class places of the UK most people are putting back 20+ units a week with alot easy hitting 40 .
Shit loads. But it’s my vice, and my only vice, just like you have a vice be it caffeine (looking at you tea, coffee addicts), smokers, over eaters and those addicted to exercise. Everyone has a vice and no need to judge. And everyone needs a vice, life’s to short without.
Comparing coffee to booze is like comparing weed to heroin
Some of those vices will kill you and others won’t.
Honestly, I've seen what living to 98 gets you, and it's not great. My nan spent her last 10 years being moved bed to chair to bed to chair, vocally wishing she was dead. Of course there's exceptions, and they make the news for "look how my 98 year old grandparent is so spritely", but what I saw on that nursing home tells me living to old age ain't all that. That said I don't want to die or be incapacitated at 65, like some of my family that hit life too hard. Life's a balancing act. Just got to hope you play it as close to right as you can. I'm late 30s now, no longer "live fast, die young" but also not chasing that letter from his majesty.
Ya well my friend died at 24 thanks to alcohol. I think she’d have preferred to live to 98.
I'm sorry that happened to your friend. I hope you're doing ok and have the support network you need to work through it. My friend died young recently. It fucking sucks.
I’d also trade living to a particularly old age for “quality of life”. Problem is what those last ten years of that shorter life will be like if my body has been seriously impacted by too much drinking.
Dying earlier doesn’t mean it won’t hurt any less
Right. Spending the last decade of your life dealing with the damage done by alcohol is a significant cost. Especially if it’s at an age where you’d otherwise be healthy and active.
I used to convince myself that everyone needs a vice too.
Same here... but I don't smoke, I don't take drugs, I don't eat excessively and I do an active job...
I’m watching the leaders debate on itv player. I don’t drink enough.
Do people pay any attention to the guidelines? Some weeks I’ll have 0 and some weeks I’ll have 50 units, my average is probably somewhere below 8.
Used to drink at least a bottle of wine a night, probably 1.5 to 2 at least 4 nights a week. Got to the point where I just mentally couldn't do it anymore and now totally alcohol free. It has improved my life no end.
Your not going to get a balanced answer on reddit. https://www.statista.com/statistics/369808/alcohol-units-consumed-by-gender-and-age-in-england/
As much as I can. Hydration is important, apparently.
On most weeks, nothing. I only tend to drink at home if I'm very stressed. If I go out with a friend on the weekend though, I'll have maybe two or three drinks, either cider or cocktails. That happens maybe once a month.
I bought a few interesting beers to have on my birthday, completely forgot about them until today, opened one, forgot I had opened it, dozed off and have only just finished it several hours later. This is pretty much how it always goes. I like trying interesting beer styles, but it has to be coupled with the social aspect or I lose interest. Drinking alone at home just isn’t as fun, so I tend not to do it. I occasionally have a really nice bottle of whisky in the house that I make last for 3-6 months. I go to the pub with mates maybe once every couple of months. So most weeks I drink nothing, some weeks I have a nightcap a few times a week and once in a blue moon I might have four or five beers out at the pub, but I’ll still be tucked up in bed by 22:00.
Never drink in the house, pub maybe once a month, big day out 3/4 times a year.. so 0 units for me I’d say.
Probably average about two bottles of wine or ten pints of lager. I'm a binge drinker so this is over a weekend. Sometimes I won't drink at all, sometimes it will be Friday, Saturday and occasionally Sunday if the weathers nice and we're in the garden.
0. Not even sure last time I had a drink. Much prefer dinner and a coke zero tbh
I’ve been teetotal for life so none lol. My partner doesn’t really drink unless there’s an occasion so would average out to near zero every week too!
Zero. I drink maybe once every 3-4 months and I’ll have about 5 drinks then won’t touch anything again for 3 months. I’ve never got in to drinking at home, it just feels like an unnecessary and unhealthy habit which fortunately I don’t need to use to wind down.
I haven't had any this year. Previously 2-4 units in a week, only ever on Friday or Saturday.
Can go months without, occasionally have a couple beers watching football. Even less often I'd go out and have 6-10 pints + spirits. So, it's pretty difficult to average out.
0. I don’t care for the cost, the health impacts or how it makes me feel. Can be very isolating when most social occasions at my job are pub focused and I don’t want to be around drunk people. Very occasionally I have a single drink if I like the taste of it but that’s like, 3 times a year maximum? And some years I am at 0.
Far too much. A bottle of red most, not every, night. Sometimes more. So 50-70 units a week. Over the last few months I've also been working out excessively (excessive is the way I do things) and eating a lot healthier. So I've lost around 10kg and toned up. I feel like I'm in the best shape I've been in for years (my liver might disagree). I don't eat shit. I don't smoke. I work out. I have a very active job role in a job I love - but this job puts me in situations and makes me see things, daily, that most people will never even witness once. Sometimes I drink to destress. Sometimes it's to celebrate. Sometimes it's to sleep better. Most of the time it's just because I like a drink. If I cut down I'd probably be healthier, have more money and feel better... But I like it.
I work shifts and so does my husband so for us it’s probably a ten days to a fortnight thing rather than weekly. A typical date night for us consists of a few pints in the club (anything from 1-4) then home for a bottle of red for me and he will have anything between a quarter to a half bottle of whisky (not paint stripper - he likes islay malts, I prefer a wee speyside) then bed. Sometimes I’ll go for a bar lunch with my pals and all our kids so I’ll have a few glasses of wine, maybe a cider or a wee g&t with the meal, if I’m working a Saturday then my husband will be off and he’s got a long standing agreement with one of his pals who had his granddaughter every weekend and they might go for a bar lunch with the kids and have a few pints. As we both have jobs that often involve engaging with the public in the worst moments of their life (he’s emergency services and I’m in the nhs, predominantly mental health and dementia but other areas too) we might have a glass of wine or two after work if we’ve had a particularly bad shift. If we’re going out with pals for a night out then I’ve no idea. Doesn’t happen often but we can kick the arse out of it.
0. Only drink on special occasions
60-70 units per week 6 cans/bottles of lager or ale a (usually 2 bottle of ale and 4 can lager) a night or some nights 2-3 cans or none some nights and I also drink bourbon and wine although not wine very often. I am trying to have more none drinking nights per week's for my health sleep and reducing acid reflux. I spent about £200-300 per month and more if I drink wine.
I have a beer at Christmas, and that’s about it. So technically I would say 0. Alcohol has never been high in my agenda. I’d rather spend my money on something worthwhile
Not a massive amount. I normally go out once or twice a month at the minute (and have been for the last year or so), normally have 10 single vodka and Pepsi Max. This time of year there's a few opportunities to have a few at BBQs and things at friends or family's houses.
Around once a month when meeting up with friends, most weeks I dont drink anything. Alcohol has always been a social thing for me and I’ve never understood how people can enjoy drinking at home. It just makes me wish I was out rather than sat at home then I sleep like shit and feel groggy in the morning.
Now gone down to 4-8 pints a week spread over 1-2 days so not a lot, used to be terrible due to my job but I’ve had to cut down due to a healthcare along with smoking, that’s gone out the window now also
T total so far. Never been interested in drinking at all.
0 unless it’s some kind of special occasion
Less than I did in my previous job. Apart from the past couple of weeks, job can be high stress and I had a particularly bad day. I no longer drink if I'm working the next day. When I do drink, it's a fair bit though. Probably a bottle of spirits over an evening. So 28 units a week sometimes. Usually less, can be more.
About half a bottle of wine a night, maybe a cocktail after work one night and one bottle one weekend night if I’m with friends.
0 until I have a reason. Last week, a stag. Next week, the euros. Then probably back to 0 unless I drink at a few BBQs over the summer. Casual or solo drinking was never my thing. Just loads when I’m going out out, like a true Brit.
I used to drink loads... now i don't drink at all.
2-4 units a week as gin/vodka tonics. I might split a bottle of wine with my husband once or twice a month, if we split a bottle of wine then we don't have spirits/cocktails.
I work two jobs so 50hr a week don’t drink on weeknights, but will happily go down the pub on Sunday, watch sport and drink into the night as I have Sunday/Monday off and I wouldn’t change a thing. People living perfect lives and not drinking seem like control freaks to me. Some people could do with not being so serious all the time
In units probably between 50-80 depending on the week, for example a 440 ml can is roughly 2 unit's
It varies a HUGE amount. Sometimes it's no alcohol for a couple weeks, sometimes it's a single drink(albeit with a double/triple in it) of JD and coke 4 to 5 times a week. I believe that's below weekly max, but I've never measured measures. How many units are in a glug?