So like most I always figured booze was harmful. The obvious with the liver and such. But for whatever reason I never knew of it as a cancer causing thing and certainly not to the extent that it is.
I would imagine most people , like myself, do not know that it is
" Alcohol has been classified as a Group 1 carcinogen (carcinogenic to humans) for decades by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. It’s right up there with tobacco and asbestos. Alcohol is also a [top cause] of [preventable cancer] after smoking and obesity. "
I come from a long line of traumatized alcoholics it is one of the reason I went the pothead route, and I still somehow never knew just how carcinogenic it is.
As misguided as Prohibition was, there was a PROBLEM at the time. People drank several times more than they do now…like unimaginable levels of drunkenness. 2.5 gallons of pure alcohol/year per adult. And people were smaller then lol.
But yeah, liver cancer, throat cancer, mouth cancer…it’s a nasty drug. Root cause of so many social problems too.
It’s crazy that many of the so called “hard drugs” are objectively better for you than booze.
Booze is the worst. The worst. I know many people who have either died from acute toxicity or because their livers gave out early from a lifetime of the stuff.
My dentist is strongly against alcohol based mouthwash.
I used to drink too much. I quit 3 years ago. Still drink mouthwash though.
Over the last 2 year I’ve slowly reduced my alchohol intake and over the last few weeks I’ve decided to cut it out of my life completely.
My Overall health has greatly improved over the last 2 years. I’ve lost about 60lbs and I’m in The best shape of my life. If I drink a beer now it pretty much puts me in bed for several days due to severe inflimation in my joints. My shit would get so inflamed it would pop out my bones from joints(from the hip down) . I was going to a chiropractor on a biweekly basis to pop them back in. I love the taste, but I hate the pain.
During the height of the 1st covid outbreak they banned alcohol sales here and the hospitals recorded a 95% drop in trauma cases. Shot back up after the 1st weekend of sales.
Still blows my mind that its not considered a hard drug.
I dont miss it. It ruined my life.
Health wise, I think it caused or helped cause my heart attack at age 39. The attack felt like the worse hangover ever, and I was hung over at the time, then it started coming in waves with every wave worse than the last, becoming unbearable over the course of an hour. I almost died. It makes me think I was probably damaging my heart with every hangover because it felt so similar. Like my blood is stale or expired or something. I used to get them horrible when I drank vodka, especially whenever I wasn’t drinking often, I still binged but without the tolerance. I would wake up so dehydrated I couldn’t stand it, but my stomach wouldn’t keep water down. So I’d drink water, and puke it, for the better part of a day, bed bound. Part of my problem was that I never passed out, or got sick until I quit drinking, or needed food or sleep for days at a time. I was a beast of endurance. I could just about live off of mt dew and vodka, while it was killing me.
The only part I miss now, is that after my attack, when I would drink, is the only time I’d feel healthy. But its still not worth it, so I never feel healthy, but at least I’m not a drunkin mess.
It’s such an insidious drug. I’ve overindulged on other substances, but nothing makes bad decisions like booze. Nothing scarier than someone telling you all the things you did while blacked out. Like…behaving normally. Driving 40 minutes home on the interstate. I could have killed someone…and this happened multiple times. I’ve fallen down flights of stairs, passed out and woke up in strange places (including jail). I used to start sweating around 9PM because that’s when my hangover started subsiding. I used to drink a pint of whiskey before I even started drinking at a bar or party. Things were rough for several years, big reason was being on probation and unable to smoke weed. But booze is cool, drink up.
But maaaan if you feel bad about life it’s an easy and cheap bandaid that no one gets mad at you for applying. I was around drunks so much that I just thought it was a facet of life. Which it is. I thought it was normal for kids to hang around bars and for parents to have mixed drinks in the console while driving.
Like I said…true love/hate. The sound of ice cubes clinking in a tumbler of bourbon…hnnnng. A dozen ice cold beers on a hot summer night…If you’ve got the booze bug it makes sense. It really makes the brain be quiet. Now I get to think about every embarrassing moment of a decade plus on the sauce (I can remember) before I go to sleep.
I still drink just far far less. It’s much less attractive when you’re happy or close to it. A pint of booze or a six pack will have me feeling like death the entirety of the next day.
I had they rid of all those people. That was the hardest part.
I can still sniff a beer and enjoy the smell but there was a rum fig rum sauce pudding at Christmas that grossed me out.
I should have had the shit kicked out of me many times because of my drunken belligerence.
But it’s everywhere. Every human function revolves around booze. Heroin addict? Stay away from heroin. Drunkard? Good luck finding a safe space without being a hermit.
I think the worse thing about alcohol is the WAY it grabs you. For a hardcore introvert, alcohol is the key to the gate that has imprisoned you your whole life. It lets you feel normal for once. The door just swings open. I still wish there was a pill that you could take once a day, that would keep you on a 2-3 beer buzz permanently, and without all the negatives.
Four years without alcohol here.
The peace, clarity and wellbeing I’ve gained since then is enormous.
It’s one of those things you’ll NEVER regret giving up, just like cigarettes.
Not to mention the amount of money I’ve saved.
Some people can have fun at a party or concert or bar dead sober.
I am not one of those people and I never will be. Hell I got to the point I preferred drinking alone. No embarrassment or judgment, cheap, no driving, and I get to play the music I want.
Society runs on it. And you’re right, it’s everywhere. I’ll decide not to drink and pass 8 liquor stores and gas stations on the way home and I have to stop myself from pulling into every one. I’ve always got $10 to spare and that’s all it takes.
