Views on Alcohol/Drinking

cHaTbOx

I was just there thinking how do we develop a liking for alcohol, do you believe you responded to peer pressure and social conditioning in this country .

Do you believe we are young once, or that this is really damaging our society?

I just want to throw this out there as I don't think we look at it, we just go with the flow.

I don't want this thread to be about how much you drink but how you started , what pressures you felt , Is it linked to family , the old man taking you out for a few getting your first pint ?

I remember the first drink I had was champagne when I was 9-10 on the eve of the millennium. It was seen as something used for celebration.
Do we see drinking alcohol as something to celebrate events e.g. wetting the baby's head. In response to that do you ever feel left out or felt left out when you didn't drink

Anyway, what is your opinion, views and experience?

Insect Overlord

Some interesting points made in this thread: link

cHaTbOx

An File wrote: »

Some interesting points made in this thread: link

I saw that thread , but I was thinking this was a different topic.But some good point were made in it .
Not talking about how much you drink etc But how people got /didn't get into it .THe impact other people made on them .

I remember hearing a friend saying you had to force yourself to like it

Keith in cork

For me it was just what we did on a friday. not so much peer pressure. i started as a nieve 12yr old on council estates. I drank regulary until 22, now i don't drink. not a problem, but i don't see the point when i have as much fun, if not more when i don't, plus it costs me next to nothing for a night out.
Am i a tight git? lmao

tolosenc

I have a hangover, and therefore it is my unbiased opinion that alcohol is the DEVIL.

JC 2K3

You're only young once.

People will always do recreational drugs, they're a natural part of life IMO.

Diabhal Beag

I always enjoyed the odd pint when I was a child so I developed a love for it. I don't drink a lot because it wouldn't be as great. A lot of people do it from peer pressure. Those same people also smoke and drink and stick out like a sore thumb when looking for attention.


Faking drunk is also the saddest thing I have ever seen. You're either a lightweight or average capacitator of drink

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

Little Shyte wrote: »

I always enjoyed the odd pint when I was a child so I developed a love for it. I don't drink a lot because it wouldn't be as great. A lot of people do it from peer pressure. Those same people also smoke and drink and stick out like a sore thumb when looking for attention.

Only in Ireland....

Anyhoo, in our house we would have been allowed an occasional glass of wine with dinner or whatever from when we about ten or eleven onwards. I would have been about fifteen before I ever would have started drinking with friends, and it was a mix of curiosity, I suppose to rebel a bit, and because everyone else was doing it-though it wasn't peer pressure, I drank much more than my friends, and started before some of them.

There are a lot of heavy drinkers in my family, although my mother doesn't really drink (well she does in the WHO kind of a way, but not in the Irish type of a way-"sure I wasn't drinking last night, I only had two), my father drinks A LOT. Sometimes when I'm home I feel pressured to drink with him, because it's his way of bonding with me. Sometimes I come home and I'm wrecked, or dying of a hangover, and he starts in with "There's a bottle there in the cupboard, crack it out would you" And he seems really hurt if I don't?

There are also a few recovered alcoholics on my mother's side of the family (yes I know, isn't my gene pool wonerful ), so that makes me quite conscious of watching out for alcoholic behaviour in myself. Like, they were really bad. One time my aunt was dropping me down to Cork after a weekend and I asked her if she'd ever been before- "You know, I've a feeling I lived here for a month or so.*thoughtful face* Now I know I lived in Galway...." :eek:

JC 2K3

Tyson Damaged Archaeologist wrote: »

Only in Ireland....

Much moreso in continental Europe, I reckon. The age to buy alcohol is generally 16 there, and it wouldn't be uncommon for children younger than that to have a drink with their parents. It's largely their laid back approach to alcohol which makes it less of a social necessity over there.

sock puppet

Tyson Damaged Archaeologist wrote: »

Only in Ireland....

Anyhoo, in our house we would have been allowed an occasional glass of wine with dinner or whatever from when we about ten or eleven onwards. I would have been about fifteen before I ever would have started drinking with friends, and it was a mix of curiosity, I suppose to rebel a bit, and because everyone else was doing it-though it wasn't peer pressure, I drank much more than my friends, and started before some of them.

There are a lot of heavy drinkers in my family, although my mother doesn't really drink (well she does in the WHO kind of a way, but not in the Irish type of a way-"sure I wasn't drinking last night, I only had two), my father drinks A LOT. Sometimes when I'm home I feel pressured to drink with him, because it's his way of bonding with me. Sometimes I come home and I'm wrecked, or dying of a hangover, and he starts in with "There's a bottle there in the cupboard, crack it out would you" And he seems really hurt if I don't?

There are also a few recovered alcoholics on my mother's side of the family (yes I know, isn't my gene pool wonerful ), so that makes me quite conscious of watching out for alcoholic behaviour in myself. Like, they were really bad. One time my aunt was dropping me down to Cork after a weekend and I asked her if she'd ever been before- "You know, I've a feeling I lived here for a month or so.*thoughtful face* Now I know I lived in Galway...." :eek:

Sorry to drag this thread off topic but do you think that's actually possible? Does every alcoholic not say "I'll never be like my dad/mam" when they're young? My brother used to be like that but he's now developed drinking problems.

I started drinking mostly because of peer pressure. I've obviously now developed a taste for beer. But then there are lots of other things that don't taste nice the first time you try them like coffee for example.

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

sock puppet wrote: »

Sorry to drag this thread off topic but do you think that's actually possible? Does every alcoholic not say "I'll never be like my dad/mam" when they're young? My brother used to be like that but he's now developed drinking problems.

I like to think so. As far as I remember the biggest risk genetically is father's passing it on to their sons (I read somewhere that if the son of an alcoholic father is adopted at birth, he's still twice as likely to become an alcoholic as the son of a non alcoholic father), but I'm still aware of it. Like if I've been caning it for a few nights in a row I'll stop myself, I never drink for no reason etc (granted, the reason might be a bit flimsy "Fuckit it's Thursday, come on, Bróg"). I think being aware of the behaviours and the risk is important, so many people don't even realise they have a drinking problem until they've developed a serious one-hit rock bottom in other words. I'm sure it's not possible to eliminate the tendency towards alcoholism, but I think you could preclude a serious problem. Hopefully anyways

allandanyways

I'm 19 and I rarely drink. When I do, I enjoy it, but I've only begun to enjoy alcohol in the last year or two (ironically since it became legal for me to drink, thrill worn off perhaps?:p)

I used to drink just cos my friends were, or because we could get drink that particular weekend and i hated it- the whole "drinking" scenario, A dozen or so teenagers huddled under a tree in the rain or sitting in someone's house swigging cans of bavaria or vodka out of sprite bottles all checking in case our mams drove by or someone's parents came home... I hated the fear of my mother going mad or getting caught by the police or just something bad happening to me or somebody else because of the drink.

The thing about younger teenagers drinking now is that they think they know it all (I'm sorry but yous do), they don't have that worry we used to have for some reason... Parents are becoming far too leniant aswell. Teenagers now think that they're adults, and that the fact that they drink makes them old enough to know their limits which they don't.
It's very fcuking cool to be plastered all the time and without going on another rant about the effy-style random i'm-a-rock-on-dont-give-a-fcuk-individual sh!te that my sister and her entire year apparently are going on with, Ireland and the UK have ridiculous, irresponsible attitudes to teenage drinking and drug use, and no, it isn't acceptable to say "Ah sure we're Irish" or "They're gonna do it eventually", teenagers are not adults, they do not know everything and they will fcuk up.

But it'll probably be really random and cool when they do so who cares if they're on a feeding tube for the rest of their lives because they drank so much vodka that their stomach stopped working....:rolleyes: There is so much more to life, especially when you're 16, than getting off your face every weekend. I wish people would realise that.

JC 2K3

allandanyways, you speak as if you "know it all"

I'd say lighten up a bit. If you drank when you were your sister's age then what's the difference between you and her? There's 3 years between you and your sister and you seem to think her and her peers are much worse than you and your peers were when you were her age. A general shift in social attitudes doesn't happen in 3 years I'm afraid. If you think your sister's behaviour is much worse than yours at her age (by whatever definition you give "worse"), then it's an isolated case, not that teenagers in general don't care about anything.

allandanyways

JC 2K3 wrote: »

allandanyways, you speak as if you "know it all"

I don't "know it all", I've just seen too much bad **** happen to my friends, my sister and her friends and general teenagers where I live because they think they know everything. Nobody knows everything. I may be more cautious and sensible (or boring if that's the easiest way to summarise it), but I'd rather be that than be in the state those kids are in now. I said I rarely drink, and when I was 16 I drank once in a blue moon, I would hang out with the drinkers but I'd only drink the odd time because I was so afraid of the consequences. but I'd rather be that than be in the state those kids are in now.

I'd say lighten up a bit. If you drank when you were your sister's age then what's the difference between you and her? There's 3 years between you and your sister and you seem to think her and her peers are much worse than you and your peers were when you were her age.

Her peers have this "fcuk life, let's get wasted" attitude that we never had. We were all for a good time, having the craic and being a bit bold, but we were never as rude or as obnoxious as the teenagers I've encountered so far this year. It's a fashion thing, the d4 thing is going out of fashion and this new "random dont-give-a-fcuk" attitude is what's in. You can't tell me you havent encountered this.

A general shift in social attitudes doesn't happen in 3 years

But you cant deny that teenage drinking is so out of control that parents are just giving up and saying "do whatever you want". As I said before, it's a fashion thing for the teenagers involved and a lack of responsibility on the parents part.

If you think your sister's behaviour is much worse than yours at her age (by whatever definition you give "worse"), then it's an isolated case, not that teenagers in general don't care about anything.

It's not an isolated case in terms of my sister, but there are so many growing groups of this obnoxious fashion that it's impossible to ignore it.

Insect Overlord

Sometimes "lighten up a bit" can be the hardest thing to be told. I've been told to do just that on too many occasions now and it nearly always has the opposite effect. But, anyway, that's just a side issue.

Alcoholism goes back generations in my family, so one might say I'm at risk of going down the same route because of genetics. However, I don't believe that I will develop a problem just because my uncle, my great-grandmother or whoever did so before. There's definitely more to it than that.

As I've mentioned before, I waited until my 18th birthday before I had my first proper drink. It wasn't a decision my parents made for me, I just did it to prove that it could be done. Did that make my teenage years awkward? Yes, to a certain point it did. But, it was not a major issue for me or my friends, there was never any trouble with peer-pressure and I don't regret that decision now.

My parents used to offer me the chance to take a glass of wine with my dinner, or to join them for a pint on holidays, but I didn't fancy it. When my best friend started going to house-parties or bush-drinking I let him off and found other things to do. After a while of that he started to cop himself on a bit, but the other guys I hung around with took up the same habits. Everyone I knew was at it by then. I was about 16 by that stage.

So, I started going along to a few parties. There was always somebody with an I.D. to buy the booze, and me to buy Lucozade or Coke I ended up going out with the hostess of most of these parties, but for 6 months or so I was just her friend who didn't get drunk. Some of the strangest nights of my life were spent watching other people get wasted, which actually reinforced my decision to not join in.

I always knew I was going to drink in moderation once I was legally old enough to buy my own, so I had a small, intimate 18th in my house with a few friends and a bit of cider. And then it stopped being such a big deal. On my first night out in town I wasn't even stopped at the door. That was 2 and a half years ago. Since then I've only been properly pissed twice.

I love having a few pints, shots or cocktails, and I do "get it" now when I think about why people want to drink, but I've also seen enough to know that young people who drink just to get drunk are terrible liabilities. I can't understand that menatality at all, the competitiveness to see who can get the drunkest. It's bizarre.

cHaTbOx

JC 2K3 wrote: »

allandanyways, you speak as if you "know it all"

I'd say lighten up a bit.

She may not "know it all " but she has an opinion of it all , and imo it is not a bad thing. Your opinion is to lighten up , but tbh it may not be the best approach for some people . She is basing her opinions and experience and to betray that without serious thought is a little difficult.

allandanyways wrote: »

I may be more cautious and sensible (or boring if that's the easiest way to summarise it), but I'd rather be that than be in the state those kids are in now.

But JC 2K3 is right , I think it seemed a little provoking though(imo), but you are looking at things having thought about them coupled with your experience. Once bitter, twice shy . You have seen things . An old but wise saying " the day you get too much sense is the day you stop having fun" .I don't know if it is wise but I live by that .

Her peers have this "fcuk life, let's get wasted" attitude that we never had.

How do you know you never had it ?how do you know they have it ? People get swayed into certain mindsets all the time and sometimes it's just for show.

I think as soon as something very serious happens , people will grow a little wiser . We are human after all , we make mistakes.

Also you are looking from a protective sisters eyes . You will see mistakes in everything she does. She is 16 , you don't know what you looked like on the outside to other people at 16.

An File wrote: »

Sometimes "lighten up a bit" can be the hardest thing to be told. I've been told to do just that on too many occasions now and it nearly always has the opposite effect. But, anyway, that's just a side issue.

+1
It can feel like an attack on your character. In doing so you can become bitter and it can lead into an extreme lightening / tightening up

I love having a few pints, shots or cocktails, and I do "get it" now when I think about why people want to drink, but I've also seen enough to know that young people who drink just to get drunk are terrible liabilities.

I am the same , but i am been at that very drunk /very happy mood and it was great so I an see the allure , but I know my limits. I would never get very drunk going out as I need to have my wits about me and I rather have enough sense in me to have a proper converstation .

People who drink to get drunk do it to make up for something , they haven't discovered who they are yet . But my opinion isn't worth much.


I set up this thread to explore what alcohol is to me and find some of other peoples experiences . I do enjoy a drink , I can enjoy a good drink , but then stop when I am satisfied .

That is something else I wanted to see, can we stop when satisfied or do we keep going until we get more of that buzz?
Do we always have to learn from bad experiences?

Crumble Froo

cHaTbOx wrote: »

do you believe you responded to peer pressure and social conditioning in this country .

nope, i'll say i didn't respond to peer pressure.

Do you believe we are young once, or that this is really damaging our society?

am i allowed say 'both'? yep, you're young once, it's the perfect time to experiment, form your opinions and all that... but we do have a tendency towards going waaaayyyy OTT. between the health damage, the damage to property, and the damage to ourselves (doing stupid things, getting hurt, drink driving, irresponsible sex), it's definitely damaging.

I just want to throw this out there as I don't think we look at it, we just go with the flow.

fair play, and true that, a lot of people do just go with the flow, but at the same time, i know quite a lot of people who've never drank, or made a point of not drinking until 18.

I don't want this thread to be about how much you drink but how you started , what pressures you felt , Is it linked to family , the old man taking you out for a few getting your first pint ?

for me, i knew pretty early on that i had a very addictive personality, and i spent most of my teens struggling with various vices and self destructive behaviours. i made a point of avoiding booze until i was about 18, because i just simply didnt trust myself to do it in moderation.

Do we see drinking alcohol as something to celebrate events e.g. wetting the baby's head. In response to that do you ever feel left out or felt left out when you didn't drink

definitely. when i texted back home to tell everyone that i'd got my visa last month, almost every single person said that they'd have a drink in my honour that night. definitely definitely a celebratory thing.

i usually don't feel left out when im not drinking if i've made the decision myself to not drink. i spent most of college going out and staying sober cos i couldnt afford to drink.

Crumble Froo

Tyson Damaged Archaeologist wrote: »

(granted, the reason might be a bit flimsy "Fuckit it's Thursday, come on, Bróg"). I think being aware of the behaviours and the risk is important, so many people don't even realise they have a drinking problem until they've developed a serious one-hit rock bottom in other words. I'm sure it's not possible to eliminate the tendency towards alcoholism, but I think you could preclude a serious problem. Hopefully anyways

that's actually my favourite reason for drinking. cos it's thursday. i love thursdays.

but it is important to be aware of potential to become an alcoholic/addict. at the moment, i can see the day where i have to just stop drinking altogether getting closer and closer.

and i think i was quite lucky actually, in my teens, cos i had some very 'sensible' mates, who didnt spend the weekends getting pissed and didnt think getting drunk was the be all and end all. we were quite happy staying in on weekends, having a laugh, watching telly and having a gossip. that was just sorta our groove, so i never really had to worry about the peer pressure element. if it came from anywhere, it was from the people who'd pick on me, and well... i wasn't exactly gonna go do it jsut cos those **** thought i should :rolleyes:

as for forcing the taste down, my first drink was a JD coke, and i absolutely loved it. next was a blackcurrant vodka. nyom. can't stomach beer or cider now at all, and if the option was stay sober or have beer/cider, i'd gladly stay sober, i really do hate that stuff.

JC 2K3

cHaTbOx wrote: »

People who drink to get drunk do it to make up for something , they haven't discovered who they are yet . But my opinion isn't worth much.

Your opinion is worth as much as anyone else's, but I'd disagree here.

Have you ever actually gone out and just drank to get drunk? Gone out with nothing else but the mentality of "I'll just get wasted and see what happens"?

There is a limit, i.e. you shouldn't be puking up by the end of the night, but there's nothing wrong with getting drunk. And I mean what is "drinking to get drunk" anyway? What other reason is there to drink? To get tipsy or to be more sociable? Everyone drinks so they can experience the effects of alcohol, i.e. to get drunk to some degree. I don't think people are necessarily making up for something because they like to get more drunk than others.

Personally, I drink different amounts depending on where I'm going out to, who's gonna be there, what I'll be doing the next morning and what I feel like in general. I don't follow any strict rules and don't take a very critical view of the whole drinking thing.

Piste

On the point of drinking to get drunk, I totally do that. Only in social situations mind, like I'd never just have one or two drinks because that's just a waste of money if you're not going to get any buzz off it.

cHaTbOx

JC 2K3 wrote: »

Have you ever actually gone out and just drank to get drunk? Gone out with nothing else but the mentality of "I'll just get wasted and see what happens"?

Oh yeas , but I felt it was to hide something .Then again my opinion is drawing from experiences , as are you .I shouldn't not have made that statement definitive, "Some people" would have been more appropriate .

Personally, I drink different amounts depending on where I'm going out to, who's gonna be there, what I'll be doing the next morning and what I feel like in general. I don't follow any strict rules and don't take a very critical view of the whole drinking thing.

Neither do I tbh ,but I always think it is good to step back and look at things from a different light , educate ourselves or others on different attitudes to it.

bythewoods

Piste wrote: »

On the point of drinking to get drunk, I totally do that. Only in social situations mind, like I'd never just have one or two drinks because that's just a waste of money if you're not going to get any buzz off it.

Too right Piste!
(Well, sometimes I drink in moderation, but usually it just seems wasteful!)
I don't exactly go out to drink because I appreciate the fine taste. I mean, I do appreciate the fine taste SOMEWHAT, but let's be fair here- sparkling water is much more enjoyable and refreshing than the likes of vodka.

Drinking's not a big deal for me really. Lately, I've been going out and just not drinking. I used to like the old "one or two" thing, but it's just a waste, so if I'm going out to drink... I do it right ><

I never experienced the drinking-cans-in-a-field thing, not properly anyway! I was able to get into my local pub or any clubs really (with a little help from someone else's ID I s'pose! :P) from about the age of 16, so never had any bother that way.
I do recall chugging back vodka in my friend's bedroom when we were about 14/15 though, thinking we were dead cool. I shudder at the memories!

sock puppet

On a side note I couldn't help but laugh at one of the headlines in the Irish Times today - "The era of cheap drink is over". The government think that loss leading promotions on alcohol should be banned, meaning we'll no longer be able to buy (decent) beer for the low low price of 1 euro per can.:rolleyes: And who do we have to thank for this? None other than our very own homophobic minister for equality, Dermot Ahern.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2009/0406/1224244074534.html?via=mr

KnifeWRENCH

I never got the whole allure of drunkeness growing up. I went to a few house parties and a few night out but I always made sure to only have a few drinks, including when I went out for my 18th (which was only me and about 5 or 6 friends) There were also times in the past few years where I've been on medication for months at a time, so even when I could drink I decided not to, just to be safe.

I never really noticed peer pressure up to Junior Cert, because I'd a group of friends who weren't really into the whole drinking thing. Then I went into 5th Year, made a new group of friends and realised that they enjoyed being drunk (I honestly found this strange - I guess I was a bit too naive) Every so often they'd tell me to "drink more" or "get drunk" but I never did because I just didn't want to be drunk - I didn't like the idea of not being fully in control and wanted to keep my wits. My friends thought I was strange but no-one ever forced me to get drunk. So thankfully, I managed to avoid succumbing to peer pressure. I never felt any pressure from family either - my Dad doesn't drink and my Mam only ever has the odd glass of wine.

Since being in college I've understood more of why alcohol is so popular (maybe because pretty much every social event in college revolves around alcohol) I'm a bit more open to the allure of alcohol now, and if I'm on a night out (which I don't often do) I might have enough to get me tipsy/happy but stop before the puking and blacking out begins. Incidentally I've only ever been hopelessly drunk once (with the puking and the blacking out) and it happened last week. (Some advice: it is a very bad idea to not eat for 4 or 5 hours and then proceed to down a shoulder of vodka in less than an hour, followed by drinking games with a bottle of wine.

The moral of this waffle: don't give into peer pressure and enjoy alcohol responsibly.

g5fd6ow0hseima

I just feel it is an indelible part of our culture. Our means of socialisiing centres around the apex of alcohol. On the continent, the pub isnt the hub of social activity, therefore the lure of alcohol is stemmed to an extent where it fails to be relied upon for social bonding.

We cannot shake it off, where would we move on to from there?

Purple Gorilla

I'm in 4th year now..my friends have been drinking since about 2nd year... I was always pretty against it. Didn't see why people drunk etc. Then in August, my friend had a huge gaff party and I decided to try it...got fairly drunk but didn't make a fool of myself. I was just on a buzz Then everyone else was drunk so it was just like one big happy party :P

I did enjoy it, especially since my 3 kidneys mean I don't get hangovers...I drink every so often now. Not like every weekend but maybe once a month or if something big is going on. I still don't need drink to have a good time at a party though..I still go to plenty of parties without drinking a thing

Davidius

I'm 17, never drank a beer in my life. Don't plan to go out on my 18 this August either. The whole thing seems like a big waste of time and money to me.

I don't like the smell of it. I've been told it's an acquired taste. Being the kind of person I am, I don't bother acquiring something that I don't deem as worth it. I don't consider socialising all that important and the focus on getting drunk only turns me away from bothering.

I don't get on well with people in general. I like to learn, as a result I like to listen to what interesting things people have to say. Unfortunately I don't find what many people think of as interesting, as interesting. The most obvious example being how drunk they are.

I don't like how embedded in Irish culture it seems to be and how important some people consider it. People have attempted to put pressure on me on the odd time. My older brother once said "I think we should get you your first pint". When I gave him the "Er..no" response, he told me about how he was worried about me and the horrible life ahead of me. Some people still seem surprised when I refuse to drink, as if they thought the my whole non-drinking thing was a matter of "he's just saying that". The idea of drinking to have fun seems so unfulfilling to me. I'm just not that much of a fan of the 'easy pleasures'.

Anyhow, the importance and status of drinking in our culture has also turned me off in that I've seen how it's affected others. I know somebody who used to be a proud non drinker. However he was always the kind who was in search of social acceptance and eventually cracked. He's abandoned his hobbies as a result of trying to fit drinking into most of his schedule. He has to remind everybody of how drunk he is to somehow prove himself.

Also I'm too cool.

Insect Overlord

Davidius wrote: »

Also I'm too cool.

You were doing just fine right up to this point, now everyone will think yore a lux0r

Professey Chin

An File wrote: »

You were doing just fine right up to this point, now everyone will think yore a lux0r

He's a Las Vegas hotel

http://www.luxor.com/

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

Davidius wrote: »

I'm 17, never drank a beer in my life. Don't plan to go out on my 18 this August either. The whole thing seems like a big waste of time and money to me.

I don't like the smell of it. I've been told it's an acquired taste. Being the kind of person I am, I don't bother acquiring something that I don't deem as worth it. I don't consider socialising all that important and the focus on getting drunk only turns me away from bothering.

I don't get on well with people in general. I like to learn, as a result I like to listen to what interesting things people have to say. Unfortunately I don't find what many people think of as interesting, as interesting. The most obvious example being how drunk they are.

I don't like how embedded in Irish culture it seems to be and how important some people consider it. People have attempted to put pressure on me on the odd time. My older brother once said "I think we should get you your first pint". When I gave him the "Er..no" response, he told me about how he was worried about me and the horrible life ahead of me. Some people still seem surprised when I refuse to drink, as if they thought the my whole non-drinking thing was a matter of "he's just saying that". The idea of drinking to have fun seems so unfulfilling to me. I'm just not that much of a fan of the 'easy pleasures'.

Anyhow, the importance and status of drinking in our culture has also turned me off in that I've seen how it's affected others. I know somebody who used to be a proud non drinker. However he was always the kind who was in search of social acceptance and eventually cracked. He's abandoned his hobbies as a result of trying to fit drinking into most of his schedule. He has to remind everybody of how drunk he is to somehow prove himself.

Also I'm too cool.

It's amazing how everyone knows everything when they're 17 :pac:

Professey Chin

Tyson Damaged Archaeologist wrote: »

It's amazing how everyone knows everything when they're 17 :pac:

Sure didnt we all :pac:

philologos

I don't see any major problem with it as long as it is carried out in moderation in all respects. However, I can't respect the idea of drinking purely to get absolutely buckled. Maybe that's just me however. I've drank very rarely. I'd say the point when I drank the most would have been when I was 18. I've decided to abstain from it now however. I just don't see the point in it anymore. Maybe some people might understand where I'm coming from, maybe most people won't

Although OP, I don't see how drinking is comparable to "wetting a baby's head" (I assume you mean baptism here). There are religious consequences to that, and if it has become merely something to "celebrate" that's when we should worry about losing the sacred in life.

KnifeWRENCH

Spencer Strong Wire wrote: »

I did it for da 1st time wen i was goin to a disco cos it seemed like a good laugh and it was!! best nite ever AND i didnt have a hangover da next morning. At home id usualy hav 4/5 cans of bulmers over d weekend(im 15 so i can go out and buy drink meself so its just whatever ma lets me hav ha) when i go ta a disco id knock back a naggin of vodka wit red bull in it on da bus on da way or just b4 it.

Cut out the text speak, some people find it annoying and difficult to read. You've a full keyboard - use it please.

Also a general note to everyone: while you're free to give your opinions on alcohol, you are not allowed to actively encourage or promote underage drinking as it is an illegal activity.

Professey Chin

Right. Guess its time for the fourms elder to give his opinion
Most of ye talk about your drinking experience but trust me when I say youve got nothin on me (I got stories you really dont wanna know):pac:
1st time drinking was when I was 16 on a staff night out and I will admit I enjoyed myself but thats party cause I was having great fun with everyone I worked with and was my 1st time goin to and gettin into a nightclub. Of course being my first time and only being with people who were used to it I drank too much, got sick and at that age woke up without a hangover (those days are missed badly ).
From then till 18 I woulda drank id say 4 times because personally i didnt see it as a massive thing. After turning 18, getting my ID opened a whole new world. Literally 2/3 times a week out getting drunk for almost a year n a half.I had a couple good nights to remember but overall, I look back now and I have almost nothing to show for all those nights.
After that 18 month session I stopped drinking for the best part of a year and now I only drink about once a month and when I do I only have at most 6 long neck bottles (maybe a heavy session once every 4 or so months).
Now im done rambling, im sure I had a point here somewhere. Oh yes. I think this country has a problem with drink culture and badly. A lot of teens seem to drink 1st when going to a disco or something because it makes it more fun. The main question I gotta ask is if you need drink to make these more fun then why do them in the first place? Plenty of other things can be done that are much more fun. Im a fan of random adventures.Big country to see and plenty of other stuff to learn
I realise it sounds like im telling people not to drink but thats really not the case. Im saying that if you feel a need to drink to make stuff you do more fun then maybe youre not doing the right stuff.I think a big problem in this country stems from a feeling that drink is needed to make our activities more fun and until people realise thats not the case binge drinking is never gonna end
And im very confused at what I just wrote too but im sure im right :pac:

bigeasyeah

I love drinking.

Piste

Over the last few months my tolerance to alcohol has gotten less and less, now after two or three glasses of wine I have a hangover and nothing I can do mitigates hangovers (even being really good and drinking piles of water and eating carbs before bed). So I'm just either going to drink a tiny bit when I'm out, or not at all.

It's a sad sign of our society when my friend looked as if I'd said I was cutting off my arm when I told her that.

JC 2K3

Why carbs? You need salt and sugar before bed as well as water (I mix 8/9 teaspoons of sugar and one teaspoon of salt with a pint of water before bed and it does the trick - same idea as an isotonic drink) (and sleep!), not carbs.... Carbs might help reducing alcohol absorption if eaten before alcohol consumption, but they're little help when all the alcohol's already in your bloodstream....

Hangovers after 2/3 glasses of wine is quite bad though... Are you eating enough before drinking?

Piste

Yep, if I have wine with dinner I feel the effects the next day. I eat carbs if it's shortly after drinking to absorb the alcohol that's still liquid in my stomach also carbs is sugar basically!

Teutorix

I disagree with alcohol abuse by any person. if they are drinking it solely to get smashed its wrong.
Under-age drinking is a tricky subject, because a well developed 16(near 17) year old like myself would have a liver capable of "digesting" the alcohol when a squirt of a girl may only have a tiny liver and do it massive damage by consuming alcohol.

Fad

Teutorix wrote: »

I disagree with alcohol abuse by any person. if they are drinking it solely to get smashed its wrong.

There are many times I have drank with the sole intention of getting hammered, its not exactly a healthy habit, but this year Ive had a couple of those weeks where I just want to feel nothing afterwards. Its by no means a regular occourance, I dont really drink very often, but sometimes the prospect of not feeling anything, even for a little while is pretty inviting.

Teutorix

Thats a pretty good point, but like any drug, you can end up getting dependant on it to help you escape.