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[–]Communist_Pants[S] 741 points742 points  (390 children)

It's bonkers how much the top ~30% of Americans drink.

The top 30% of drinkers in America consume roughly 370 drinks per year. That's a little more than one per day or 7 per week.



Or, if you prefer, 10 drinks per day.

[–]erix84 378 points379 points  (178 children)

We recently hired a 35 year old that claims he drinks an 18 pack (of Milwaukee's Best, Bud Light if he's splurging) a day... Has also never moved out of his parents house. People like him certainly don't help the average.

[–]disposablereggit 277 points278 points  (62 children)

I worked with a lady who was a hardcore alcoholic, but she was functional. Some people are like that. US Grant wrote in his diary about being unable to control his drinking, but in every other part of his life he was extremely disciplined. It's a weird disease.

[–]87westy 167 points168 points  (33 children)


Dean Martin

[–]Quiderite 85 points86 points  (2 children)

Oh my God stop, please stop.

  • Dean Martin's Liver

[–]Ranman87 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Pretty sure it's already stopped.

[–]HomerrJFong 73 points74 points  (9 children)

I wonder if he ever realized the reason he felt like shit every morning was because of how much he drank.

[–]Final_Taco 41 points42 points  (1 child)

I think that's the joke. I'm sure if he was alive today, he'd probably refine his quote into "Drinking is a way of stealing happiness from tomorrow."

[–]PSiggS 29 points30 points  (6 children)

I feel like shit no matter what, when I wake up, but it gets better as soon as I get up and out of “the depression chamber” aka my room. I don’t think waking up is the best part of my day, ever.

[–]jon_naz 9 points10 points  (2 children)

I don't feel like a real human until like 3 hours into the day regardless of how many hours of sleep I get.

[–]DirtyD27 13 points14 points  (2 children)

[–]Spikel14 10 points11 points  (0 children)

This is a unique sub full of really cool and interesting people who are as honest as you'll ever see. Oh and it's depressing too!

[–]LiamtheV 21 points22 points  (23 children)

So even he admitted that when it came to drinking, a he rack a disciprine

[–]themitchapalooza 44 points45 points  (1 child)

I never knew people could live their lives like this until I worked with a guy that’d buy vodka by the case because he drank so much. Seemingly normal guy until you hang out with him after work. Because of him when I see alcohol consumption stats like this I don’t think twice; it’s 100% realistic with so many people that function in society and down a handle a day.

[–]DMala 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It’s so alien to me. I enjoy beer, but I can go two weeks without taking a drink, and that’s not some achievement of willpower, it’s more like I just couldn’t be arsed to go over to the liquor store. More than 2-3 drinks in a sitting is rare for me, and going out and getting really hammered is something I haven’t done in probably 10-15 years.

I count myself lucky. Whatever the gene for alcoholism is, I don’t have it. Food, on the other hand...

[–]louislinaris 76 points77 points  (59 children)

This is not uncommon among unskilled Male laborers, in my experience.

[–]errandrunning 51 points52 points  (26 children)

I'll be honest, I'm an accountant with a college degree that I earned 100% while being drunk. I went to the bar before class (it was a night program so you had class for 6 hours one night a week and had lots of outside labs and homework to do), I went to the bar after class, I did my homework on the weekends at the bar. Fast forward almost 15 years and I drink every waking moment I am not at work. Half a bottle of tequila and a handful a beers after work each night, a bottle or more of tequila each weekend day and who knows how many beers. Coworkers who have gone out to drink with me after work can't believe it their first time because I'm a fairly likeable, knowledgeable dude at work who is always on time and never calls in. But I also work in the construction industry so nobody really bats an eye at the vast over consumption. I know what I am doing is awful for my health but there aren't any immediate consequences that might cause me to take a hard look in the mirror and realize I have to change now. It'll probably be too late at that point but that's the result of the choices I have made I guess.

[–]Sixtydotnine 14 points15 points  (2 children)

You need to get help now. Drinking causes big Danae to your body that you're probably just use to. Once you give it up for a while you'll feel so much better and have long term health going for you too

[–]DiscoTut 14 points15 points  (1 child)

That Danae is a mean bitch

[–]TheTruthTortoise 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Especially big Danae.

[–]AngryAlpaca_ 9 points10 points  (0 children)

My dad lived like this my entire life and he's getting a heart valve replacement. Drinking (oddly enough) left his liver alone but did a number on his heart.

[–]agentyage 6 points7 points  (4 children)

How much do you spend per week on alcohol? I'm just curious because that sounds really expensive. I was shocked when I quit smoking how much petty cash I ended up with just not buying cigs, and sounds like you're spending more than I did on 2 packs a day.

[–]errandrunning 7 points8 points  (3 children)

If I had to guess, 4 bottles of tequila a week at $20 each and a couple of 30 packs at $17 each so $130 a week if I don't go to the bar on the way home to grab a couple to socialize before retreating home. I also smoke probably 3 packs a week and then there's other "recreational" things I partake in. I would not be surprised if my total bill across all substances hits $1,000 a month honestly.

[–]j0a3k 10 points11 points  (1 child)

I work in long term disability. I see lots of cases and read the records of people with horrifying conditions and symptoms that they deal with.

I've talked at length with a few people who drink as much as you do about their experiences after the damage was already done.

Imagine feeling like you have to throw up, while it's like there's a lead weight in you lower abdomen, while it feels like someone is stabbing you in the gut, and these feelings literally never go away.

Because your liver is so ravaged you can't really take much medication to ease these symptoms. You can only sleep a couple hours at a time before the pain gets so excruciating that you have to get up and move, but you're so tired and sore all over your body like you have a flu that never goes away so sometimes you just lay there in pain for hours...unable to get up or feel any relief.

Once you scar your liver that damage is damn near impossible to reverse.

As a human being I don't ever want you to deal with this, but it's the path you are on.

Please get help.

[–]OhGawDuhhh 4 points5 points  (6 children)

Dude you gotta make choices today that you'll thank yourself for down the road. You're a hard worker and you deserve to enjoy the fruits of your labor as you get older.

Reach out and get the help you need, man.

[–]errandrunning 2 points3 points  (5 children)

I'm cursed with being an alcoholic and a chronic procrastinator. If I have a deadline, I will meet that deadline, no matter what. But I don't ever do things early. That wasn't a bad thing when it came to homework but it doesn't work out so well when it comes to health. Well, it probably won't work out so well as far as health. My body has handled everything that's been thrown at it so far. And that's my biggest problem. I have been through many times where I realize I need help. Problem is, help is always thought about for tomorrow.

[–]OhGawDuhhh 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't really drink. I drink like 2 glasses of wine a year. But I am a procrastinator. I have a Passion Planner and I write everything down and I treat all my errands the same way I treat work. Maybe try that? I'm really worried about you. I know that attitude/mindset. I'm 33 and I started exercising differently, to preserve my joints, and I feel so much better. I really hope things work out for you. Truly.

[–]KnockItTheFuckOff 4 points5 points  (0 children)


Swing by. Lurk for a while. The sub 💯 changed my life. I'm 254 days sober as a result of the support I received from that sub.

[–]darcerin 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Please, please get help.

[–]ragnar_graybeard87 30 points31 points  (8 children)

Unless you count roofers and drywallers as skilled. Because in that case the skilled male laborers are included ;)

[–]davisyoung 27 points28 points  (5 children)

Roofers and drywallers are at the top of the list in terms of substance abuse in the trades.

[–]HiMyNameIsNerd 12 points13 points  (1 child)

A lot of my extended family are drywallers/painters/roofers. All of them have problems with alcohol and a good few of them are REALLY into heroin.

[–]khoabear 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What else are you supposed to do while the wall is drying?

[–]NicholasFarseer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lol, totally. I just got a new roof, and when I was in the attic putting away Christmas decorations, there were bottle caps everywhere.

[–]kungpowpotato92 20 points21 points  (18 children)

Controls and Robot Programmers are heavy drinkers. Can confirm this, currently on the road and drink a lot.

[–]RammerRod 12 points13 points  (7 children)

Yep....my wife's gonna leave me if I don't get control of it soon. Can't 'force off' the drinking bit unfortunately.

[–]scottymoze 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Hey I'm really sorry to hear that. If you truly want help, maybe talk to her about it, and ask her to help you get some professional help. Every single person on Earth has something they could use help with in some fashion...it takes real bravery (not shame) to actually seek out that help. Good luck and take it one day at a time! :)

[–]hangoverDOTTED 2 points3 points  (5 children)

I managed to kick my habit by taking a work trip to Oregon and I got super high every single night without drinking a drop. Came back home and it was like someone turned off a switch. I didn't need to drink anymore. It's been awhile now and I drink occasionally but I've never had that need to drink since then.

Sidenote: and that's why beer companies lobby against weed legalization.

[–]CloneNoodle 17 points18 points  (9 children)

Most programmers I know are heavy drinkers, and writers, and pretty much anyone who works in front of a computer all day (even moreso if they work from home).

[–]roland_gilead 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm an illustrator (60% digital, 40% traditional) and I used to drink a ton. Especially before I found success. These days? I've got my act together and lift/rock climb on the regular. I pretty much stopped drinking outside of social situations. I am so much happier.

[–]variouscrap 14 points15 points  (2 children)

Previous guy I rented from said one of the local mill workers was doing those sorts of numbers everyday. Died in his early 40s I believe and he said they found a hole in his liver.

[–]J_R_R_TrollKing 14 points15 points  (1 child)

My friend died at age 35 back in 2015 from destroying his liver by drinking too much. When I would go visit him, there were always around 20 or so empty bottles of Bacardi 151 in his kitchen. It was gross and sad.

[–]I-Have-So-Many-Names 21 points22 points  (5 children)

It should be crazy that you can brag about that as a new hire and keep your job, but it’s been like that everywhere I’ve worked. Funny thing is, if they bragged about using any other drug-even in moderation-they’d get shitcanned, but brag about being a no-shit alcoholic and everyone just laughs.

[–]Cardinal_and_Plum 10 points11 points  (2 children)

I don't know about that. I've been on jobs where the bosses or coworkers are pretty open about their drug use up to and including marijuana, adderall, and LSD.

[–]I-Have-So-Many-Names 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Oh for sure, I’ve had those too, but I think what i described is way more common. Has been for me, at least

[–]Cardinal_and_Plum 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're probably right. That job was at a privately owned business. I imagine if you get into a corporations or jobs that have unions you see more of it kept under wraps. It makes sense though as stupid as it is. Drinking is legal.

[–]iwoketoanightmare 19 points20 points  (6 children)

I was told this was too graphic for this sub by a non mod.. But it explains in some detail with hiring a person like this. (death involved)

We hired a guy like that last year. He went on a bender and ended up dying because he choked on his own vomit during a drunk spell. We only know the details because he was roomates with someone else that works here.

[–]I-Have-So-Many-Names 5 points6 points  (2 children)

I just lost a friend I’d known for 25 years this way. He was only in his thirties but his death was “alcohol related” (all the info I could get out of anyone). I only know of a few ways alcohol can kill you in less than decades and the choking on puke thing is one of them. It just seems like such a fucking dumb thing to die over.

[–]molochz 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That's really sad to hear from both of you.

My father had problems with alcohol and tried to kill himself 20 years ago.

Thankfully his a different person now.

It's such a dangerous drug. People really don't give it enough respect sometimes

I live in Ireland and we drink far too much. The stories are all true.

[–]GrandpasSabre 4 points5 points  (0 children)

From the ages of 14 through 16, my friends and I would go to this meth house and ask the kid (he was maybe 2 years older than us) to get his dad to buy us alcohol. This meth house was fucking nasty. Windows boarded up, cats going in and out through broken windows and pissing wherever. The dad was always passed out on the couch drunk with a cat or two sleeping on him. The kid would wake his dad up and we'd hand his dad a $5 and watch while he stumbled down to the store on the corner and come back with two 40s.

The rest of the family (including the dad's sister?) lived about two blocks away and they were all methheads. The kid we knew was a methhead. But the father was by far the biggest fucking addict in the family, and to this day is still the biggest addict I've ever met, and the only drug he did was alcohol.

He ended up drinking himself to death. The doctor told him he had to stop or he'd die, but his family kept giving him alcohol and he eventually died. I'd moved away at that point, but my best friend ended up hooked on meth for awhile and spent a lot of time at that house and got to know the father pretty well, and was with him when he died. The dude's wife had left him with their son to raise, and the guy just couldn't cope and turned to the bottle. He wasn't a bad person, just an addict with no control over himself. A man who eventually succumbed to the hardships of his life and his addiction.

The bank took the house after he died. The house was actually in a very rich neighborhood, and they were one of the leftover families from back when homes were affordable (Silicon Valley). The house was demolished and now there's a $2,000,000+ house sitting where the meth house used to be.

[–]MechemicalMan 4 points5 points  (7 children)

Yea I have a buddy who's like this. He gets in benders where he starts with 1-2 beers per night, then moves to finishing 6packs, then moves up to finishing cases, then goes on fasts for 6 months, then inevitably goes back

[–]WastedGiraffe_ 7 points8 points  (1 child)

Sounds like drinking to avoid thinking. Not uncommon.

[–]J_R_R_TrollKing 9 points10 points  (5 children)

Is he fat? I can't imagine anyone drinking that much liquid bread in their 30s and not being obese.

[–]Windpuppet 29 points30 points  (0 children)

When you drink that much you don’t eat. You’re getting calories but no nutrition. Alcohol actually interferes with absorbing nutrients too.

[–]DanDotOrg 7 points8 points  (2 children)

No, okay? An average sized rowboat wouldn’t support him.

[–]skiing_dingus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Bud Light if he's splurging

18 waters? this man is just staying hydrated, that's all.

[–]TheTurfinator 57 points58 points  (11 children)

I probably floated around that top 10% for several years. I don't know if I ever averaged 74 drinks/week for a sustained period of time, but I'm sure I broke that number here and there. From 2011-2019, I averaged easily 50+ drinks/week on the very conservative end of things. In fact, I'd guess that my average was somewhere around 60-65, with spikes of 80+ around holidays (or for no reason).

Once you start drinking liquor regularly, it adds up quick. I would pour myself bourbon triples/quads from roughly 6-7 PM and keep drinking until bedtime at 1:00 AM-ish. 3-4 of those didn't seem like a lot - each drink maybe half-filled a tumbler, with ice - but that's 9-16 drinks. And that's for a weekday. Weekends obviously involved some day drinking. A light drinking day would be one or two triples, and I seldom took a full day off of drinking.

This was all while I was working 60+ hours/week (attorney), though I never drank on the job and never showed up drunk. I don't know how I managed it.

[–]XSavage19X 27 points28 points  (1 child)

Hello fellow over the top bourbon drinking attorney working 60 hrs a week! I feel ya and I decided to quit for a couple months for all of the same reasons you just described.

[–]TheTurfinator 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Yup! I quit private practice and moved into something that offered actual work-life balance so I didn't feel the need to drown my perpetual anxiety with booze. It's amazing how I don't feel like shit all the time anymore. Good luck to you! Hope you enjoy the time off.

[–]smokingloon4 12 points13 points  (2 children)

When I read this post title my first thought was that it reminded me of how they talk about "oh no, so many attorneys have drinking problems, how do we cut back the focus on alcohol at firm events" and such, when the real problem is the culture of legal practice that drives people to mental illness and substance abuse. The drinking problems are the symptom, not the disease, but nobody in the industry wants to actually change, just pay lip service to "wellness" initiatives while still working people until they break. I suspect that concept holds true for America as a whole.

[–]st-john-mollusc 5 points6 points  (0 children)

We need some kind of worker's movement among salaried professionals.

[–]this_sort_of_thing 7 points8 points  (5 children)

How the fuck did you cope with the hangovers?

I’d be a raging alcoholic too if I didn’t get hangovers.

[–]lostmyselfinyourlies 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You don't get hangovers to the same extent when you drink that much, plus the feeling-kinda-shitty-all-the-time becomes your normal.

[–]J_R_R_TrollKing 48 points49 points  (18 children)

It's the culture. Not only is hard liquor advertised on television now (something that would have been unthinkable in the '90s), suburban "mom culture" promotes a daily wine habit as normal and even healthy.

[–]wellgoshgollygeez 15 points16 points  (15 children)

Coors just started marketing themselves as morning beer. Two dudes sitting in their jammies drinking beer watching football.... pretty disgusting imho

[–]JefferyGoldberg 28 points29 points  (12 children)

Have you honestly never done that?

[–]strum_and_dang 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My dad used to refer to certain brands as breakfast beer. However, by the time he died (at 67) he was drinking straight vodka for breakfast.

[–]MechemicalMan 37 points38 points  (15 children)

7 per week is a lot?

[–]WalrusJSpringsteen 20 points21 points  (11 children)

No, if you go out on a Saturday night you're probably having 7 drinks. Hell, even if you just went to the pub after work twice a week you'll probably have 7

[–]Jjtardiff 9 points10 points  (7 children)

A “drink” is a 12oz beer. If you have two tall beers after work twice a week, that’s 7/8 “drinks”

[–]WalrusJSpringsteen 4 points5 points  (4 children)

This is very confusing, they should have just used Units.

How big is a tall beer in America, bigger than a pint? I

[–]Jjtardiff 2 points3 points  (3 children)

A pint is 16oz. A tall is usually 20-24 oz

[–]ZDHELIX 5 points6 points  (0 children)

They also say anything more than 1 drink as a woman or 2 drinks as a man is "binge drinking" in one sitting which I think is a little ridiculous. If someone splits a 6 pack with their friend on a Friday I'd hardly call that "binging."

[–]AquaZen 15 points16 points  (4 children)

A drink per day doesn’t seem that concerning... 10 drinks per day on the other hand is extremely concerning.

[–]Gog848 14 points15 points  (4 children)

Is one drink a day really that crazy?

[–]Cardinal_and_Plum 12 points13 points  (1 child)

I generally drink 2-3 drinks a day, placing me in that 30% average, but that top 10% is incredible. That's downright alcoholism. You'd have to really try hard to make that work. I have to imagine those folks are drinking from the moment they wake up.

[–]CloneNoodle 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Welp I'm for sure in the top 30% but luckily well under that top 10%. I'll take it!

[–]Cranky_Windlass 18 points19 points  (3 children)

I definitely had 7 drinks just yesterday after work

[–]recovering_spaz 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Wow. My childhood wasn't normal. I'd like to think my father didn't crack the top ten percent, but it wouldn't surprise me.

[–]theredditforwork 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The top 10% is bonkers, the top 30% are basically having a glass of wine every night with dinner.

[–]rafferty85 20 points21 points  (4 children)

[–]bikebum 30 points31 points  (2 children)

Here's the kicker:

There’s another, potentially bigger problem though. Cook “corrected” the results of the surveys to adjust for the fact that per capita alcohol sales in the U.S. were more than double what respondents the survey showed. To make the correction he simply doubled the amount each respondent claimed to have drunk. As, Trevor Butterworth of Forbes has explained, this approach assumes that:

The more respondents said they drank, the more wrong they were. For example, if you said you had one drink, Cook’s multiplier would put you down for two–not a huge difference. But if you said you drank 14 beers a week, under Cook’s system that would be 28 total drinks;

Every non-drinker was being entirely honest/accurate (since two times zero is still zero), it’s only the drinkers who are fibbing/misremembering;

None of the extra alcohol is being consumed by high school kids, since the survey only counted adults;

All the alcohol sold is being consumed. (Butterworth writes, “Waste is a huge issue with food, with estimates running from 30-40 percent of calories produced; we do not know how much alcohol is, if you’ll forgive the pun, wasted.”)

[–]Ravenwing19 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Holy shit! How is this guy not being laughed at all the way to a serious reprimand. This survey is pure bullshit.

[–]depressing-alter-ego 5 points6 points  (0 children)

When I did events I saw a shocking amount of alcohol go in the trash.

[–]ProDiesel 3 points4 points  (2 children)

I hate to admit it, but I’m pretty close to that top 10% or WAS. Now I do sober months mixed in (did four months last year!) this years goal is 6 months sober and maybe one day totally phasing it out. I started this journey when I did a challenge of keeping my empty bottles (I’m a hard alcohol drinker) for one week. I had 3 empty handles (1.75 Liters) and had started a fourth by day 7... THAT made me really consider what I was doing...

I swapped to Vodka and maybe drink 1 handle a week now, more often then not less. This also made my weight drop approx 40 pounds since the change which was about April 2019.

[–]CozySlum 3 points4 points  (0 children)

After working at a high end restaurant, I’m blown away at the staggering number of rich, successful functional alcoholics among us.

[–]Prodigy195 17 points18 points  (9 children)

I probably drink ~1 drink a day on average. I don't drink everyday but I'll have a glass of wine with dinner or an old fashioned if I go out.

That 2.4 gallons a year seems wild to me. Even if you just drink socially it's so easy to have it quickly add up.

Just between Sat-Mon this past weekend I definitely had over a gallon of alcohol just watching football with friends. Prob 3-4 beers each day on Sat/Sun watching NFL Playoffs and another 2 last night watching the NCAA National Championship. I was never wildly drunk either because it's 3-4 beers spread out over 5-6 hours of time.

If each beer is ~1 pint then I'm already over a gallon. Add in a few UFC/boxing fight parties, Super Bowl, attending weddings, holiday parties, summer cookouts, after work happy hours, dinners out with the wife, a vacation trip we have planned, and then just normal drinking (i.e having a beer at a baseball game, basketball game, etc) and I'm easily pushing a 30-40 gallons for the year.

[–]whitefish3 51 points52 points  (1 child)

The volume refers to pure alcohol. A beer is only 5% alcohol.

[–]typing 3 points4 points  (2 children)

I think that maybe the amount of alcoholic beverages available has been increasing. It's a huge business and with the likes of wine in a can, spiked club soda, and other new alcoholic drinks on the market it should be expected. TBH i'm surprised at the amount of 2.3 gallons, it seems kinda low but I guess there are lots of people who just don't drink.

[–]bikebum 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ten years ago I did not drink most days. At some point I learned how to make cocktails, and now I have one or two most days.

[–]chairfairy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

2 gal of pure alcohol - which is 40 gal of 5% beer

[–]Gamegis 311 points312 points  (115 children)

Those early 1800s numbers are truly stunning. People drinking in a week what I think I do in about 2-3 years.

[–]GiraffePolka 104 points105 points  (37 children)

But didn't they use alcohol as medicine back then? I feel like in old books they're always talking about how brandy is used whenever someone faints or is in pain or too cold or whatever.

[–]Communist_Pants[S] 79 points80 points  (1 child)

Not sure if that is included in the 1800's numbers, but even if they were, you'd have to have a very bad cold to need 9 gallons worth of alcohol as medicine.

[–]HillarysFloppyChode 45 points46 points  (15 children)

Coke was made with cocaine, food and medicine was more fun then. You could get fucked up easier

[–]EdwardLewisVIII 25 points26 points  (12 children)

Food could definitely fuck you up, with or without the meds. Have you ever heard about how food in markets was handled up until about 1900? Nauseating.

[–]AvogadrosArmy 49 points50 points  (3 children)

Upton Sinclair has entered the chat

[–]pundonor 21 points22 points  (2 children)

Low wage worker has entered the meat grinder.

[–]Orphasmia 3 points4 points  (1 child)

Am i getting some hints of liver in my lasagna?

[–]Fishtails 4 points5 points  (5 children)

I haven't heard, but I would love to read more. Where should I go?

[–]Ap0llo 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Upton Sinclar - The Jungle deals with conditions in food processing around the turn of the century I believe.

[–]techleopard 8 points9 points  (0 children)

My great grandma was like that -- wouldn't take pain medication, but bourbon was a panacea.

But this also means our drinking levels look even worse, because we are definitely choosing to do it to get drunk, as opposed to it being the only clean thing to drink or thinking it's medicine.

[–]halzen 12 points13 points  (12 children)

Fainting spells, muscle aches, bad days...

[–]GiraffePolka 40 points41 points  (10 children)

with the way current healthcare costs are going, we might as well return to retro medicine and use booze to mask all our aches and pains.

[–]Reddit_beard 30 points31 points  (2 children)

You think that isnt happening? Bartenders are some people doctors and therapists

[–]HillarysFloppyChode 6 points7 points  (3 children)

Pretty sure they used to sell morphine as cough drops

[–]Lilybaum 7 points8 points  (2 children)

That was the weak shit. The good stuff had alcohol, morphine, cannabis and chloroform. Check out One Night Cough Syrup

Incidentally they still do use diamorphine (i.e. heroin) to treat cough in certain end-stage lung diseases, it does work.

[–]Orphasmia 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I reckon enough heroin’ll cure anything

[–]Javasar 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Ahh the rooster is cawking drink

Ahh the corn is growing drink

Ahh I took a piss drink

[–]SquareQuarter 4 points5 points  (2 children)

Yes, but the main thing was that everyone just drank all the time. Water was only for the most poor of the poor who had no choice. Otherwise, everyone drank beer instead of water.

[–]thinkB4WeSpeak 12 points13 points  (1 child)

A number of factors led to an explosion of alcohol consumption in the early 1800s. First, the British halted their participation in the American molasses/rum trade, objecting to its connections with slavery, while the federal government also began to tax rum in the 1790s. At the same time, the settlement of the so-called “corn belt” in the Midwest created large new supplies of corn, which was cheaper and more profitable to convert into whiskey than it was to transport great distances without spoiling. Thus, as Rorabaugh notes: “Western farmers could make no profit shipping corn overland to eastern markets, so they distilled corn into ‘liquid assets.’ By the 1820s, whiskey sold for twenty-five cents a gallon, making it cheaper than beer, wine, coffee, tea, or milk.”

In short, whiskey was extremely cheap and extremely available, and American consumption soared as a result. As Okrent describes in Last Call, the number of distilleries in the nation increased fivefold, to 14,000 in between 1790 and 1810. He writes that “in cities it was widely understood that common workers would fail to come to work on Mondays, staying home to wrestle with the echoes and aftershocks of a weekend binge. By 1830, the tolling of a town bell at 11 a.m. and again at 4 p.m. marked ‘grog time.’”


[–]Putinlovertrump 20 points21 points  (3 children)

These are amateur numbers. After doing the math I apparently drink a little over a gallon every 2 days.... Time to re-evaluate my life choices.

[–]GinIsJustVodkaTea 2 points3 points  (2 children)

I've averaged about 1-1.5 per week for 8 years and my liver tests still come back in normal range. If I can do 65 gallons/year and be alright why is 2.3 gallons such an issue?

[–]wings1315 12 points13 points  (0 children)

According to the study 2.3 gallons is around 500 drinks so it must be gallons of pure alcohol. Not raw alcoholic beverage volume. A case of beer is about 2.5 gallons of fluid.

[–]Boh-dar 25 points26 points  (1 child)

Fun fact: a big reason Prohibition happened is because American men were getting wasted and beating their wives all the fucking time. Prohibition and women's rights were actually fought for together by women who were fed up with being beaten so much. And once their movement harnessed the power of moralistic Christian activism, they actually managed to do what should have been impossible - banned alcohol via constitutional amendment.


[–]BubbaTee 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Not so fun fact: the temperance movement played to ethnic, xenophobic, and religious bigotry.

The temperance movement was heavily white Anglo-Saxon, while the folks they portrayed as getting drunk and beating their wives were Irish, Italian, Slavic, or otherwise non-"white" (in the sense that the KKK defined "white").

The temperance movement was heavily rural and suburban, while those they portrayed as drunks were newly-arrived immigrants who clustered in the cities.

The temperance movement was heavily Protestant Evangelical, while those they portrayed as drunks were usually Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Jewish.

When you look at Prohibition as a culmination of these factors, it certainly seems less impossible, especially in 1917 - heck, maybe in 2020.

How Progressives, Racists, Xenophobes and Suffragists Teamed up to Give America Prohibition

[–]TrainingHuckleberry3 40 points41 points  (30 children)

IIRC alcoholic drinks back then were weaker as well. Like, 3.2 beer and 40 proof hard liquor. Not today's 8% beers and 100+ proof liquors.

[–]Brye11626 87 points88 points  (12 children)

Really kinda overstating the standard for today. The average beer is like 4-5% and 80 proof liquor is the norm.

[–]R3dOctober 15 points16 points  (5 children)

That isn't really accurate. The Royal Navy was rationing 114 proof rum all the way back in the 17th century. High proof liquor isn't exactly rocket science and George Washington's moonshine recipe was high proof for instance. In fact, most historic liquors were higher in proof than they are today, Jack Daniels was bottled at 90 proof from 1875 up until the 1990s.

[–]AThiker05 2 points3 points  (4 children)

Not today's 8% beers

120 min Dogfish: Hold my beer

[–]mystacheisgreen 12 points13 points  (6 children)

Alcohol was safer to drink back then compared to water. Here in modern society we can’t use that excuse.

[–]sad_emoji 147 points148 points  (19 children)

Europe steps in the ring

You call that drinking?

[–]HorAshow 68 points69 points  (3 children)

South Korea has entered the game

[–]inahos_sleipnir 7 points8 points  (0 children)

honestly the Asian body chemistry helps keep us degenerates from landing on the top of these lists

[–]cptncrnch 2 points3 points  (1 child)

soju bottles roll onto floor

[–]TechFiend72 227 points228 points  (12 children)

America has a stressed out problem.

[–]ermagherdmcleren 83 points84 points  (2 children)

That the lack of affordable healthcare problem doesnt help

[–]TheWeisGuy 39 points40 points  (1 child)

I mean europens drink a lot more on average there buddy

[–]PM_me_opossum_pics 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thats probably drinking culture and northern countries dealing with depression (I know they drink a lot). I'm from Balkans and oh boy our drinking culture is sickening. 2-3 beers everyday is the norm for most working people. A lot of people start casually drinking hard stuff at 15-16. Honestly, most people seem burned out from drinking an "partying" by the time they are like 21-23. And drinking 80 proof stuff is kinda the norm, often going to 100 for homemade brandy/schnapps. We also have a culture of meeting up for "coffee" to talk, which often ends up in double digit drinks and not knowing how you got home.

[–]RunnyTinkles 15 points16 points  (5 children)

Increase our wages and give us more free time and I feel like this number would go down.

[–]shrub5 5 points6 points  (1 child)

A counter to that argument would be; more time to drink and more money to spend on booze. Just playing devil’s advocate.

[–]redracer67 109 points110 points  (9 children)

To be fair, 9 drinks a week (according to the article) really isn't excessive drinking given how in some cultures having wine or a type of distilled drink such as vodka or whiskey is commonplace with dinner.

Compared to 100 years ago, alcohol is also much more accessible with brick and mortar shops, online purchases, franchises, and in some US sites beer and alcohol can easily be found in gas stations, convenience stores, private label brands such as krogers and traders Joe's, etc. Micro brewing/home brewing has also become more popular.

The fact is between population growth, higher income, and more accessibility, of course drinking will increase.

[–]Communist_Pants[S] 45 points46 points  (7 children)

Alcohol consumption has actually been declining in every "first world" country - except for America.

In Europe, alcohol consumption — among adults, per capita, per year — decreased by 12% in the last decade.

"Before 1990, most alcohol was consumed in high-income countries, with the highest use levels recorded in Europe. However, this pattern has changed substantially, with large reductions across Eastern Europe and vast increases in several middle-income countries, such as China, India, and Vietnam," explains Manthey.

[–]BaronVonHoopleDoople 84 points85 points  (3 children)

This probably has something to do with most "first world" countries having a higher rate of alcohol consumption than the US.

For example, as of 2016 the US rate of alcohol consumption was 24th out of 33 (listed) OECD countries.


[–]curien 23 points24 points  (0 children)

That's true, but they started off (and remain) mostly higher than the US. The US per-capita consumption is almost identical to -- but just a bit lower than -- Canada, for example.

[–]CloneNoodle 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Dude just wait for Brexit and that number will plummet in Europe.

[–]MaxQ 415 points416 points  (49 children)

I mean have you looked at waves arms at everything? Of course we drink.

[–]2boredtocare 122 points123 points  (36 children)

I'm convinced pretty much every adult has something they use as a means of escape: alcohol, drugs (holy shit i'm in IL and the lines at the local dispensary are ridiculous), gambling (we have hundreds of slot places in town now), food, cheating. We're all just trying to get by, man.

[–]Col_Walter_Tits 59 points60 points  (31 children)

Yea my theory has always been that if someone acts like they don’t have a vice than whatever there’s is must be really bad. The key to life is to just not let the vice be in charge.

[–]ChooChooTreyn 11 points12 points  (30 children)

I honestly don't think I have a vice. I have never had any form of alcohol, never smoked, never done any sort of drugs, I don't have a sex addiction, no porn or video game addiction, I don't binge eat. It's mayyyyybe sweets, but that's more of me just having a sweet tooth and me having a few Hershey Kisses or M&Ms a day. Am I the weird one?

[–]Col_Walter_Tits 42 points43 points  (3 children)

I’m not saying that you’re secretly a serial killer or anything but............

[–]Orphasmia 9 points10 points  (1 child)

He definitely kills babies.

[–]EbenSneezer 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Gotta satisfy that sweet tooth.

[–]hifiDesign 12 points13 points  (3 children)

Your vice might be politely contrarian internet comments?

checks notes

Are you Canadian perchance?

[–]ChooChooTreyn 10 points11 points  (2 children)

Texas! Maybe it's that southern hospitality creeping in.

[–]RosencrantzIsNotDead 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I must have taken all of yours.

[–]Salpal777 3 points4 points  (4 children)

U got a candy problem

[–]ChooChooTreyn 5 points6 points  (3 children)

If a few Kisses or M&Ms a day is a candy problem, okay. I don't really consider it a problem in the slightest, but to each their own.

[–]Nuka-Cole 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I escape my reality with virtual reality. Everybody likes me there. Also I have magic powers.

[–]ds1946 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Well, some of us just use hobbies to cope, it’s not always stuff like what you mentioned.

[–]TheGr8erG00d 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have very few friends without some sort of a dependency.

Also, hello from across the river.

[–]ty_kanye_vcool 60 points61 points  (2 children)

You could have said that at any point in the last 200 years and people would agree with you.

[–]rhinemanner 39 points40 points  (1 child)

Except that those past people would probably look at us and wonder what the hell we're complaining about...

[–]wittiestphrase 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Because the rye is always boozier in the other glass.

[–]eojen 20 points21 points  (5 children)

I live in a legal weed state. The largest employer in town still drug tests for weed and will fire you at first failure. Everyone that works there is extremely stressed because of the work culture from the top down. Everyone I know that works there is drinking every night.

[–]kojo2047 76 points77 points  (5 children)

I'm not sure if this effects those numbers, but the phrase "just before Prohibition" is problematic for me. There was a pretty large temperance movement in the country "just before Prohibition". That's how the 18th amendment got put in place to begin with. It's possible that the temperance movement was deflating the numbers that they're comparing it too. It would be more accurate to look 10-20 years before temperance, or 10-20 years after Prohibition was repealed and compare to those numbers.

[–]Communist_Pants[S] 31 points32 points  (3 children)

They actually do exactly that in the article. They say that the late 1800's was the high-point of U.S. alcohol consumption. It started to decrease in 1910. Our current level is the highest it has ever been in the modern era and roughly the 3rd highest decade of alcohol consumption in American history.

[–]curien 26 points27 points  (0 children)


Huh? "Historians say drinking was heaviest in the early 1800s, with estimates that in 1830 the average U.S. adult downed the equivalent of 7 gallons a year. [...] The [post-Prohibition] apex was a heavy-drinking spell in the 1970s and 1980s, when U.S. per-person alcohol consumption was 2.75 gallons."

It's 3rd-highest in the modern era (unless you don't consider the 70s and 80s modern), and not even close to 3rd-highest in American history.

[–]dat529 33 points34 points  (1 child)

The headline is deliberately misleading. We may be drinking more than just before Prohibition, but it's still less than the 1970s to 1980s. From the article:



I guess "Americans Drinking More Than Anytime Since The 1980s" isn't as sexy a headline.

[–]curien 30 points31 points  (3 children)


A per-person average isn't a very good representation of how much anyone drinks because the vast majority of alcohol consumed in America is consumed by a fairly small portion of heavy drinkers.

[–]PortlandSolar 8 points9 points  (2 children)

I'm kinda stunned that I'm only in the top ten percent.

I always figured my level of boozing was a one-percenter, but I guess not.

[–]Felix_Laranga 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Don't get discouraged, you can get those numbers up!

[–]Snuffleupagus03 34 points35 points  (1 child)

I work in law enforcement. I would estimate that 90% of the violent crimes I encounter involve intoxicated people.

[–]Johns-schlong 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I just finished Talking to Strangers by Malcom Gladwell and he explores alcohol for a bit in it. Basically a lot of bad decisions are made under the influence, of alcohol especially, because of the way alcohol effects the brain. "drunk you" isn't "you", it's someone else without the same motivations and self-limiting factors that we're subject to sober.

[–]onetimerone 38 points39 points  (1 child)

America has a stress and anxiety problem magnified by 24/7 news stories designed to do keep it that way.

[–]fofosfederation 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I think the crippling debt, unaffordable healthcare, and general poverty keep Americans stressed.

[–]Harlan393 46 points47 points  (0 children)

I'm reminded of a line from Rick and Morty "If I had wanted to be sober, I wouldn't have gotten drunk."

[–]LurkerSurprise 29 points30 points  (3 children)

Wouldn't you when your city is literally flooded with new craft breweries and surviving the depressive reality of corporate office life? Because I do.

[–]whitefish3 7 points8 points  (0 children)

What a misleading headline. The article states that drinking was nearly at an all time low right before prohibition, and drinking rates were far higher in the 1970s and 1980s than today.

[–]Stay_Curious85 20 points21 points  (0 children)

With people being more and more stressed with less and less access to the help they need and the breaks your body/mind needs from the daily grind is this really suprising at all to anyone?

[–]peonies_envy 16 points17 points  (0 children)

There’s a lot of people I know who drink every day habitually and it’s not good for them, but it’s become socially acceptable. Totally socially acceptable to drink every day. I used to.

I quit, and it was mentally really tough to do, it was a bad habit for many reasons.

One of the hardest things after becoming a nondrinker was hanging out with habitual drinkers. They like having other people to share their habit and want you to join them. Even if you say it was a problem for you. PeeR pressure is real even as an adult.

[–]voompanatos 34 points35 points  (16 children)

Desperation leads to self-medication, whether by alcohol, opioids, or other escapes.

[–]recovering_spaz 8 points9 points  (14 children)

Food, video games...

[–]TheCommissarGeneral 7 points8 points  (12 children)

Games and Pot for me

[–]retropieproblems 5 points6 points  (10 children)

Wish I could go back to that. Smoked weed daily for 10 years and now all the sudden it triggers massive panic attacks. Three months clean now and I’m still coughing up black shit every day as my lungs heal, which keeps me from going back lol.

[–]MosTheBoss 10 points11 points  (2 children)

The craft beers are just too good now. There's no turning back.

[–]personofshadow 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Well maybe if we didn't have so many reasons to drink...

[–]sheeplewatcher 2 points3 points  (2 children)

What’s the comparison to other nations? Curious as to how much the U.S. drinks vs. others. Is it up for other countries also?

[–]BaronVonHoopleDoople 6 points7 points  (0 children)


This is older data, but unless something has changed in the last few years the US is actually on the lower end of alcohol consumption for wealthy and/or non-Islamic nations.

For example, in 2016 the average American drank an estimated 9 liters of alcohol per year, while the average Brit drank 12.

[–]MrBanjoPiano 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Alcohol was considered safer to drink than water bc of the fermentation process. Even young children were given low alcohol beers and ciders.

[–]iwoketoanightmare 4 points5 points  (1 child)

It's a comparatively cheap way to have the craziness of modern life melt away.

[–]boarbristlebrush 8 points9 points  (0 children)

if you don't luck out some other way you pretty much have to drink to meet new people .

[–]ctophermh89 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I live in an area that was hit incredibly hard by the heroin crisis. However tragic the many deaths by heroin are, the alcoholism is so much worse and completely normalized. The only thing frowned upon is one's ability to hold a job.

[–]vagueblur901 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Wait until they figure out about the pills

[–]HorAshow 3 points4 points  (0 children)

West Virginia has entered the chat

[–]Drow_Z 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I thought this sort of thing coincides with overwork and a poor outlook on the future.

[–]Pinky7_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The only problem I have is that I don't have a drink in my hand!

[–]dwayne_rooney 11 points12 points  (1 child)

Yeah well, maybe the AP has a drinking problem. Fuck you. You don't know me.

[–]Pheeelz 5 points6 points  (1 child)

PS. Its the current societal/economic pressures the cause self medication

[–]LackeyNo2 9 points10 points  (8 children)

Yeah, but how much of that is Bud Light? Not all drinks are made the same.

[–]Communist_Pants[S] 24 points25 points  (4 children)

It's based on actual alcohol consumption, so the ABV of a drink is factored in.

[–]LackeyNo2 6 points7 points  (3 children)

Ah, when I scanned the article I conflated gallons of alcohol per year with gallons of alcoholic beverages per week. My bad.

[–]RideWithMeSNV 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I don have a drinking problem... You have a.... Ppphuckyew problem!

[–]KevinAlertSystem 6 points7 points  (7 children)

It's kinda crazy how pervasive alcohol use is.

I don't think anyone could argue that alcohol commercials on TV do not appeal to kids. Any of those bud light or corona or captain morgan commercials appeal just as strongly to a 13 year old as they do to a 30 year old.

It's just ridiculous how many people have no problem with heavy alcohol use but freak out at the mention of marijuana.

[–]DKlep25 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Not me, I'm in dry January! (and I hate everything)