I figured it would be interesting to run this thread in tandem with the smoking one, as both drinking and smoking "vices." Of course, smoking is now more frowned upon socially, and I think it's more harmful. Let's not forget, though, that alcohol is a poison; it's used to kill germs.

I guess this poll is working! Cool.

PS I considered adding "Duh, I'm a European," but, well, you could be a beer-guzzling German, or a wine-ing Frenchman, and... I figured this would work best for everyone.

Well, I voted for "I'm often drunk"

...I like to go out and have fun...so shoot me.

I guess on average I really only get drunk about once a week perhaps a bit less. I got drunk Thursday, didn't touch a drop Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, and had one glass of wine this evening with dinner. I may or may not get drunk again this weekend, but it's unlikely it'll happen before then (oh wait, I'm going out Wednesday, so maybe, but still probably not).

Anyway, alcohol is something I can take or leave, but I quite enjoy the taste, and I quite enjoy being drunk, so I often opt to "take it". I do it safely however, I don't drink and drive, and I don't drink if I'm not already happy (I.E. I don't use it to deal with sadness or anxiety).

I'm also blessed with the ability to get ridiculously drunk and still wake up perky and feeling fine the next day. I attribute this to the insane amount of water I always consume. I drink quite a bit of water independently of drinking alcohol, it's not something I do just to avoid hangovers. I generally can't stand to eat or drink anything without having a glass of water with it, and I always finish the water (and usually a 2nd glass) before finishing the other beverage/food.


Take care all
Kevin

I chose 1. I did not even get drunk on New Year's. I don't even know when the last time was that I got drunk. Part of the reason I don't drink much is because of a lower GI disease that I have. If I drink, I end up spending time in the bathroom and not for puking. I have only puked 3 or 4 times from drinking. I'd rather have one or two drinks to relax. This is something I don't mind doing on a regular basis, but getting drunk is not something I like to do much.

I drink mixed drinks every once and a while. mostly Vodka, and sometimes coke mixed in.

Btw I have never got drunk yet. don't plan to

I don't touch alcohol... anymore. I've been clean and sober 4 years Oct. 1st.

Now I strike out on a regular basis with higher class people.

I'll have a glass of wine or two with dinner. I try to keep it to that, if I drink too much I get a little silly.

I only drink on occasion. Great occasion really. Usually around special times, like thanksgiving, christmas, new years and my birthday. Which is shoved into a five month stretch. And only like a cup or two of a mixed drink, usually sex on the beach. I do go out on occasion with family and friends, but I usually end up just drinking a smirnoff or a white russian then sticking to sodas.

It really depends. I'm a social drinker only. I won't drink unless I'm with a group of friends. The last time I went all out was in Vegas and I was with a friend, and jeez, it was Vegas! I guess being away and with friends, and amongst fun conversations and joking, drinking lures me in. But I dislike being drunk, or consuming the empty calories, so I try to refrain.

Haha, finally answering my own poll.

My alcohol habits are still forming, but I've gotten drunk a few times. The hangover was pretty awful, but the part before the headaches and retching was rather fun. Still, having done it, I don't think I'll make it a regular thing. Getting tipsy is more enjoyable than getting drunk.

Once or twice every two months. I hardly drink and I don't like spending $9 for just six bottles of good Canadian beer unless it's really justified.

But yeah I got drunk often enough. Give me anything over 10% and I'll start to feel woozy after second glass. Pissed at the fourth glass.

5%. Damn I just drank a whole bottle of cranberry-flavored wine a couple days go and I only got a mild buzz.

I very rarely get drunk. I don't know if it's because I'm not overly fond of alcohol, or if it's because I'm not old enough to buy it legally.

I detest vomiting. It is, by far, the most uncomfortable, painful, humiliating, disturbingly disgusting of all bodily functions. Plus it hurts like a BITCH. Anyway, that's enough to keep me from getting drunk constantly. If it didn't have that side effect, maybe, but no, I can't deal with puking.

It's quite enjoyable sometimes, though, haha. Getting good and polluted always makes for a good story, and it does its job as a monotony breaker. I would just prefer.... other... less vomity things.

I'm gonna leave before I contribute to the thread degenerating into this-one-time-when-I-got-drunk stories.

Depending on how I am/what's gonig on I can say I mostly drink once a month if even that much. But as of late I've been drinking twice a week which is bad!!!

But it's nice to be able to have some drinks and relax with friends.

Just like smoking, I used to drink....left it a long time back... In fact I left drinking and smoking at the same time.

BeaStKid

I like to drink a fine and genuine wine, selected alcohols and liqueurs, almost during and after lunch or dinner, an "irish coffee" when weather is cold, not to forget an old Chivaz as night cap. I don't like "cheap" wines and cocktails. When i meet friends in a coffe-house or a Bar, we drink usually what is a tradition in the French part of Switzerland : a bottle of a fine Swiss white wine from a "good" year ( you can't get drunk from a 7dl bottle for 4 !
I remember very well the only times I got really drunk in all my life :
First, it was at a celebration in my student-fraternity, to get drunk was a must, I was 18 and we had to follow the crow ! I met there a guy who became one of my best friends, we were both sitting together under a table, laughing and drinking what remained in a dozen bottles around us.
The second time, I was 21, alone, sad (somebody I liked very much had left me) and I decided to get drunk to forget the loss . I had a collection of about 30 small bottles of different liqueurs and I drunk all one after the other, sitting on the edge of an open window and throwing each empty bottle trough the window.Fortunately, another friend found me and put me to bed ! I didn't remember anything the next morning
From then, I had the chance to become ill each time I drink to much, so stopping drinking for itself was easy. So I was always "appoint" as the "driver" in each party I was invited !

Menzo likes to drink, possibly too much. My roommate is a burgeoning alcoholic and my boyfriend drinks more than his share. Suffice it to say that I've been drinking a lot lately.

Menzo (who's here for a good time, not for a long time)

I almost never drink, plain that simple,,, I've never really been drunk either, tho there was twice where I was getting hot, but I never went pass the "too much" limit



I can vouch for that last part,

I will have one beer every now and then, it's usually during a hockey game. (Go Habs go!!!) but apart from that I will hardly drink at all... maybe it's because I saw what drinking too much can lead to at times...

As well drinking increase my photophobia so no thaanks it's bad enough as it is

Jason aka Moonwolf

Haha will you still be saying Go Habs go if the Habs make it to the finals against the Ducks?

Law school has many social events, so I frequently find myself having to nurse a glass of wine or two to look respectable.

nah it's going to be go ducks go and I'll need to give a lot of sexual favors if that happens and pay a couple of drinks to my friends for switching sides

Jason aka Moonwolf

I drink in moderation, there are few times in my life where I've gotten snookered beyond my limits as I always hated the next day afterwards, not ever really worth it to be drunk. So I usually just drink to quench my thirst, and then maybe a second drink a little while later.

What a fascinating discussion we're having!

It seems like most of us aren't big drinkers at all. In fact apart from myself and Menzo I don't think anyone else has said that they are frequently drunk. For my own part I'm sure I wouldn't drink if I did get hang overs, throw up while drunk, or get sad or angry when drunk, but I'm very lucky in that none of that happens to me. I've been told frequently that I'm an extremely pleasant, fun drunk and I always feel just fine. So I don't feel too bad about knocking a few back from time to time.

Anyway, I think the important thing is to drink responsibly and safely

Take care all,
Kevin

Kevin, I think you're the only one hiccuping!

It's particularly interesting to compare drinking to smoking. It seems that there's more smokers than drinkers here, at least. I wonder if it's cultural? i.e. the perception towards drinking is that it's more dangerous socially than smoking. At least smokers don't lose mental function during chainsmoking. I guess alcohol and cigarettes serve different functions in the satisfaction of our "vices."

I'm not a great drunk, I think. I said I-love-you to someone I didn't, and loudly talked shite about my ex-lover in front of my roommates. I'm not too sure about either, because I don't really remember, but I'm pretty sure I need to find someone like Kevin to get drunk with... i.e. pleasant, and fun. Haha!

I chose 1. I don't drink to get drunk, I drink to have fun with friends. I've never been drunk a moment in my life and never plan on being so. It's more fun when others get drunk, anyway

Alright Kevin! I rated myself a 3 because when I drink, my goal is getting drunk.

I don't get hangovers, throwup, or get sick or anything unless I mix drinks. Alcohol then beer, then alcohol, then beer will screw me up big time and the next day is no good. So I'll usually limit myself to one of the other.

So Kevin, when are you coming up to Dallas? I'm sure we would have some very fun drunken times!

I'll end with a prayer that all drunks should say before going to bed.

Our lager,
Which art in barrels,
Hallowed be thy drink,
Thy will be drunk,
(I will be drunk),
At home as I am in the tavern.
Give us this day our foamy head,
And forgive us our spillages,
As we forgive those who spill against us,
and lead us not to incarceration,
But deliver us from hangovers,
For thine is the beer,
The bitter and the lager,
Forever and ever,
Bar-men.

And remember, I'm not an alcoholic. I'm a drunk. Alcoholics go to meetings.

Joe

I checked "I don't touch alcohol". I'm 18 and look younger, and in California the drinking age is 21, so I can't go to bars or order wine in a restaurant. Besides, I don't like beer (for one thing, I'm allergic to brewer's yeast, for another I think it tastes like what I'd imagine swill tasting like). Now, I have tasted wine and champagne. I don't much like wine, but champagne was OK. But for me I don't see any reason to drink. I can have a good time without drinking or getting drunk. So sue me.

Colin

I like to have a drink with a meal, and every so often I'll go and get blind drunk, like on my 18th, lol that was fun, but I don't do that very often for the fact of the morning after

................showoff. If I could drink without ever getting a hangover or vomiting, sure, why not, I'd totally be an alcoholic. Sadly, though, with the amount of caffeine I consume on a daily basis I'm constantly not getting enough water, and vodka does terrible things to my body. I don't know why, but the worst hangovers are always vodka hangovers, and unless I drink tons upon tons of water in between, I'm gonna feel like a truck ran me over the next day.

It's surprising that no one's mentioned marijuana. It seems to be quickly replacing alcohol as the drug of choice for the moderate peeps. Given that it's got less drastic side effects and is actually starting to be more socially acceptable to have some form of dependency on it than alcohol, I'd think someone would've mentioned it. Yeah, I can't smoke on a daily basis either. First off, parchment lungs, ew. Second, it starts to lose its effect FAST for me, so if I smoke more than once in a good while, it's not fun at all. Third, if I don't know the people I'm smoking with well enough to consider them good friends, I'm gonna be in anxiety hell. While I much prefer it to drinking, both for myself and for those around me, I have the same basic issues with habitual use.

Oh, and EW! How can you drink alcohol with a meal?!?! Okay, wine, MAYBE, but when I think about the weird poeple who drink something like cognac with a meal, ew ew ew ew ew I'd vomit just smelling the alcohol. ~shudders~

I like (good) wine, and sometimes a nice single malt whiskey.. but i don't drink on a regular basis, and i rarely get drunk (but, well, it does happen, maybe 2 or 3 times a year, but never to the extend that i can't remember what i have done ). Even though i am German, i don't drink much beer .

That's not my perception at all. I consider smoking much more dangerous. That is assuming the people drinking are doing so responsibly. There's really no way to smoke 'responsibly' if you ask me. Just my opinion though.

Haha, I'm sure we'd have a grand time


I'm sure we would, lol! I hear there's a trip happening in a couple of months


Oh I like that!


Caffeine is toxic! I know I'm always going on about this, but, especially in large quantities, it's really bad for you! However, please don't try to quit/cut back significantly right now because it'll make not smoking a lot harder

Anyway, you're right. Some of my only bad experiences with alcohol have involved vodka.


Discussions of marijuana and other illegal substances aren't really well-suited to the forums. They're very controversial and can easily lead to things getting out of hand.

However, you do make some really good points with regards to the legalization as well as the social trends. Might I suggest we continue the conversation in the Soap Box? We already have a thread, Cannabis debate that would probably be suitable. It's a little easier to discuss difficult issues there.


Alcohol is great with meals! The majority of the time I have wine it's with some kind of meal or snack. Occasionally I drink it by itself but not often (unless I've already finished the food and just want to have another glass). Margaritas are also incredible with food! So are coffee/alcohol combinations and mudslides. Beer is even quite tasty with certain types of food. It's really all about knowing how to pair them effectively

Anyway, my favourite alcoholic beverage at the moment would probably be a cosmopolitan and I have to admit I do much prefer drinking it on its own, but most of the others are okay with certain types of food. Of course I'm not one of those people that mixes alcohol with soda, I just don't like it that way (well I don't like soda), so maybe that would taste bad with food, I wouldn't really know. I also don't drink beer very often, only once in a great while, and I don't think I would like it with very many foods, but it is good with some (you haven't lived if you haven't had a good, ice-cold budlight and a plate of spicy, boiled crawfish!)


Kevin

Coke is weird with vodka.

Cranberry juice is better.

I agree, but it's best to just make a cosmo

Cranberry sour is even better.

It dulls out the vodka flavour.

Sometimes I just don't want to be tasting it or I'll get drunk too fast...especially during a wedding banquet.

I've had those before, and still do on a semi-regular basis, but I still think Cosmos are better, lol.

Smokers don't lose mental function during chainsmoking, they lose it before chainsmoking, that's why they're doing it in the first place. And while doing so, they're horrible to be with, carcinogenic, stinking, etc.



Lol yeah those are the reasons that one is more wary of drinking than smoking -- an ex-classmate of mine fell off a roof and died while drunk, so of course it's dangerous -- it's bad enough when you wake up the next mornign and have no idea what you've done or said. Harhar... But it's also kind of ...good, to be drunk, though as you say you need the right company, on one's own it's just pathetic.

I used to get drunk fairly frequently when I was at the uni, but now I don't care for the hangovers anymore... So I just let myself get nicely tipsy, which can be bad enough the day after. Wine is good with food, and beer is good to get tipsy on when you go out. Czech, Austrian, or Irish beer, preferably.

Anyway in vino veritas, sometimes; I'd say your ex-lover deserved your talking shite.

True, smoking is more dangerous health-wise. But the image of drinking that's been planted deep into the American cultural subconsciousness is quite negative. You get drunken husbands beating wives, reckless teenagers, etc. Needless to say, nothing of that sort is associated with smoking, although that's certainly changed in the last decade or so. The negative perception of drinking is probably a cause of and reason behind the temperance movement in the early 20th century, which resulted, among other things, the rise of gangs in Chicago -- if you couldn't get booze lawfully, you'd just have to go the unlawful routes.




Ouch about the defenestration... wait, that's out a window. Eh. Horrible anyway. But yes, getting drunk -- or highly tipsy -- in the right company is great.

I voted either three or four.. I can't remember. (I voted a few days ago.. I'm not drunk).

I generally don't drink much... well relatively, compared to the guys in my house/building at least. Usually only once a week, and most times that is only enough to get me to the drunk side of tipsy. Occasionally I'll go out and blow £30 at a bar, once a month or so. But I've never been bad enough to forget things, and rarely if ever throw up (I usually drink non-gassy drinks, and puking is pretty much a phobia of mine). Hangovers are Rare, but if they appear they usually hit mid afternoon of the next day. One thing I notice is that I'm wholly aware that I'm doing something stupid, I just don't care at the time, it is only when the effects have worn off some that I start worrying about it, and then the 'fun' starts. (read: "I get really really depressed for a while and avoid people")

Um... I'd tell interesting stories, but I can't be bothered.

.........Sadly, I drink way too much daily

How can you say that ?
Too much comparing to what ?
A little bit of alcohol in blood is the best way to prevent heart attack, specially in your age
And better, my advise : 2 or 3 times a week, wine during meals, a good brandy (Armagnac or cognac) at the end and a Chivaz as a night cap.
The only main point : don't drink "cheap". Good alcohols are expensive. If you can't buy them, wait till you have earned enough.
And take care...
Old bob

Well, I've decided that I shall only be drinking two more times in the next two months. Next week for a friend's birthday and then perhaps again if/when I go to the GA convention (not because I expect it to be an alcohol filled event, simply because I'll consider it a 'vacation' and I wouldn't deprive myself in any way on a vacation. So if I feel like a glass of wine at dinner, or if we go to clubs/bars, I may have a couple). Apart from that though I don't intend to drink any other alcohol until June. I picked June because it's another friend's birthday as well as Pride. Pride comes first, so until the Pride festivities.

Anyway, It's mostly just a whim and a desire to lower my alcohol tolerance. Not to mention save a little extra money (I tend to enjoy fancy, expensive drinks ).

I'll let you all know how I do. I don't expect any setbacks though since several times in my life since my teens I've elected to swear off alcohol completely for periods of time ranging from two years to a couple of weeks. Plus I just finished having cheese and crackers, which would have been one of the most tempting times to add a glass of wine. Instead I opted for herbal iced tea

I put down 2 for my answer, but I think that doesn't really cover me at all.

I don't drink very often, maybe once a month, but when I do drink I generally try to get really really drunk.
I usually succeed.

Sounds like you're an average high schooler

Drink responsibly, no driving or riding with people who've been drinking, and be safe!

...................you know, we don't like you either! And SOME tobacco smoke is extremely pleasant to be around, though cigarettes are not in that category. Plus, if you have polite smoker friends, they tend to stay downwind on purpose. If the smokers can deal with all of the other people's social annoyances, then they can deal with smokers.

...so how's the quiting going, Jamie?

lol, I agree that pipe smoke can be pleasant.

I also have some very good friends whom I respect who smoke -- but... while they're smoking they're still making the air around them carcinogenic, no matter how much I like and respect them. And smoking isn't only a social problem, it's a medical one, you're risking the lives of people around you.

Of course smoking is fine if you do it on your own.

Its also my opinion, but this was already brought in another topic about tobacco !
As I was said then, I smoke pipe (and only pipe) since years, without any health problem in this matter .
(see my personal photo in my profile )
The only problem with pipes is all the work you have to do, to choose them (I'm the happy owner of 8 different pipes !), choose the right tobacco, clean the pipe before and after smoking, using a real stock of tools....

I love dark well-aged rum, straight-up with no lime. Alcohol interferes with all the psymeds I take so I abstain.

I've discovered that I rather like this really nice Rum. It's just the right blend of flavors that I'm looking for without being overbearing. But beyond a glass of that every so often, now days, I don't really drink.

Isn't that supposed to be the nice thing about pipes? That it's a whole hobby of its own.

Anyway, cool with eight pipes!! What kind of alcohol goes with smoking a pipe, whisky? Or something else? (Thinking of Captain Haddock here...)

Sure ! "Chivas Regal" (12 years old, the 18 years is too expensive for me) or an old "Four Roses" (I like Bourbon whisky), or after lunch or dinner some brandy, Cognac, Armagnac or Calvados (an apple brandy from the French région of Lower Normandy). We have also excellent brandies here in Switzerland but they are only local known.
Old Bob

I'm an Australian teen, so I would have selected 5 if possible...

But I've definitely gotten over the whole get hammered for the sake of it phase that mostly everyone I know went through, generally from ages 15-17.

Legal drinking age here is 18 and I can safely say that since about 80% of my friends are 18 this year, I will be getting very drunk fairly often

I don't really drink to get drunk these days, it's more going to parties, knowing I will drink, and just accpeting that I will pass out later on as an inevitability

But I do love my beer, and when I get going cannot be stopped, stereotpye/