What are various countries' alcohol rates?

[miketheidiot]

Originally posted by: davestar

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: davestar

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Fear No Evil
Lets ban everything. Tobacco, alcohol, guns, unhealthy food, skydiving, power tools, motorcycles, etc. Its too dangerous and people are too stupid not to use these things. Since I am smarter than them and I don't like these things, I say we make it illegal. :roll:

Great thread contribution :thumbsup:

Yup, it probably is the smartest contribution so far.

A handful of pictures does not give an accurate (or useful) account of alcohol consumption in England. If people can pull their heads out of their teetotalling box for a minute and remember that it is crime that affects quality of life, not behaviors (e.g. drinking) that have distorted/imaginary/over-blown connections to crime.

Nobody said it did.

Right. So you post a link to an article that shows pictures out of control drunks. You say that this small sample of pictures supports your perception of "England's streets". Then you draw a conclusion that England has more drunks than the US or Canada.

You're parsing words to claim that "Nobody said it did". This article prompted you to post about the degrading effects of alcohol on society though this article is simply tabloid sensationalism. Obviously this you took this article to heart.

Compare this list of countries ordered by Quality Of Life to the list of counties ordered by alcohol consumption - you'll notice that there is no correlation between the two.

i see a pretty strong correlation there. Countries that drink heavily also generally have higher quality of life

 

[StageLeft]

I hope we're both in agreement that the "problem" with alcohol is the potential effects of excessive alcohol consumption - whether that is bar brawls, vandalism, drunk driving, or alcoholism. You seem to veer close to saying that alcohol is an evil in and of itself.

Yes, I'm talking about excessive.

I said it's destructive to society because it net-is; it offers no overall benefit. Certainly it causes more harm than good overall, though I am referring more to the specific extremes as it affects violence, health, and accidents.

so I think that wager you won must've been against yourself

It was. I won some free sex out of it!

 

[davestar]

Originally posted by: miketheidioti see a pretty strong correlation there. Countries that drink heavily also generally have higher quality of life

:thumbsup: :beer:

Originally posted by: Skoorb
I said it's destructive to society because it net-is; it offers no overall benefit. Certainly it causes more harm than good overall, though I am referring more to the specific extremes as it affects violence, health, and accidents.

This is the mindset that drives me crazy. You really think that alcohol offers no overall benefit? Three or four nights a week, I go out with my friends/girlfriend/family to eat and drink good beer and wine. I brew beer. I cook with liquor, wine, and beer. The availability of alcohol greatly benefits me.

I hate to play the slippery slope card, but if we start banning all activities that have the potential to cause harm, we'll soon be stuck in padded cells.