That link describes a lot of my personality

Sounds a hell of a lot like owning a coupe

RK makes a good point. I was told I could have an addictive personality disorder by various non medics. However I have tried all sorts of things, from smoking (not just baccy) to gambling but never became addicted or dependent. Quite the opposite in fact and the two examples above I never even came close and struggle to see the attraction. I drink, and at points in my life I have drunk too much, but never have a problem with stopping. I drink because I find it enjoyable, the taste and the feeling it gives but I can have too much of this too. Recently I found I was drinking in order to waste time, this was something I realised when I was reading Chris Evans’ 2nd part of his autobiography. A few drinks and the days and evening pass very quickly. I am now past this point in my life so have stopped the excess. I don’t miss it and like Jim I recognise the circumstances and accept it as that. I suppose the danger is it becomes a crutch to avoid issues, but generally I sort issues out and the drink stops.

My weakness is food, and not necessarily bad food, but just the quantity of it. Strangely drinking has more impact on my weight than just the food. For me drinking turns off the ability I have to moderate my food intake. The more I drink the more I get the munchies. If I stop drinking I lose weight, not just due to the loss of the calories in the drink but mainly because I eat a lot less and because I feel better I also do more exercise.

It has taken me some time to realise I am unlikely to become an alcoholic, and the fact that I enjoy drink primarily for the taste and the social aspects.

What I wanted the program to address was the group of us who go through heavy drinking phases but do not get dependant. How much is too much and what we can do to offset the effects and damage to the body, in particular the liver. Does the body recover and if so how long does it take and what nutrition helps.

I appreciate the risks inherent in drinking but scaring me into thinking I am going to become an alcoholic does not work for me. Showing me the effects of my actions and how they can be slowed, stopped or even reversed would have been far more beneficial. Then I can do my own risk assessing in much the same way as I do in all other aspects of my life from the type of car I drive to the sports I choose to participate in.

I rememeber watching a documentary once where they were testing the affects of alcohol on the body. And one of the experiments was on weight gain.

They put out a large buffet and had 2 parties.

The first party had no alcohol and they barely touched the buffet.

The second party had a free bar and they very quickly ravaged through their buffet.

Basically they found that the increased calry intake from drinking wasnt as big a problem as the fact that people tend to eat alot more when drunk and also eat alot worse (kebabs, burgers, fried chicken, pizzas etc)

How can option 1 be described as a party

Surely the fact that you were reading Chris Evans' autobiography was enough of a wake-up call that you were wasting time.

I think I have to say I use alcohol primarily to quell my mood. If I feel restless, irritable, even hostile (towards the BBC, for example) a drink or two softens me up and fuzzies my edges. I can even sit and watch a slushy movie all the way through and get emotional on cue.

'scuse me

True. Sorry, my post comes across a bit @rsey reading it back, which I didn't intend. I am also in the advantageous phase - mine's a Stella...

I guess I'm fortunate in that I don't like the taste of most alcoholic drinks! If there are any I like, 1 is enough before the taste seems to change and I don't like the 2nd!

That and I get nasty hang-overs after 2+ drinks even though I drink plenty of water.

That's my usual diet and i don't drink...

I'd also add that having been around this industry for 21 years now it's clear to me that certain people have a pre-disposition to abuse of some substance or other. Over the years i've seen literally dozens of drunks within the brewery (it was permitted for them to drink, once upon a time) and it's always the same ones who abuse it, and the others who handle it properly - i'd say out of possibly 100 there'd be 3 or 4 at most who couldn't handle it and ended up being sacked.

If you accept that's the case, then increasing prices isn't really going to prevent a problem as the problem drinkers will sacrifice bills/family and health so long as they get a drink.You will never stop them.

As i said before the real casualties are the kids who load up on vodka/wine etc prior to going out as they can't afford the drinks in pubs and clubs, that's where the problem is being created - by the very people professing to wanting to stop it.

In my opinion we've got it completely the wrong way round, it should be cheap to drink in pubs and expensive to drink at home if there's a genuine concern for people's health - it's the closet, alcoholic type who costs the NHS so much over a long period of time