Our drinking culture

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Rikkitic

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#298415 15-Jun-2022 18:03

Anyone who did not see Paddy Gower's raw and painfully honest booze special last night needs to do so. His courage in presenting this personal warts and all account should be applauded. For anyone who is interested (and everyone should be), a follow-up discussion of the issues presented is on TV3 at 8.30 pm tonight.

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#2930003 15-Jun-2022 18:25

dont drink other than a beer maybe once a year and have never been drunk, could never see the point. Why people would spend copious amounts of money on alcohol, get fall over drunk and not remember anything the next day always felt like a complete waste of time and money and so i didnt bother.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

GV27

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#2930005 15-Jun-2022 18:35

Used to be a lot bigger and could put away a huge amount of beer in a night.

Now I'm older and I guess I've just gone off it. Too many poor choices and ruined morning-afters.

I just have better stuff to do with my time these days. I basically haven't had a beer in.... six months... a year?

I saw my friend battle alcoholism and lose. I think that's probably it for me. I'll use the extra few years I've probably gained back to spend time with my kids.

eracode

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#2930008 15-Jun-2022 18:54

I don’t like people who don’t know me telling me what TV programmes I need to watch and what I should be interested in. Each to his own.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Eva888

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#2930010 15-Jun-2022 19:11

People on any medication already risk damage to their kidneys and liver and this is not talked about much. I developed fatty liver after a strong round of drugs and Mr E's ones affect his kidney tests, so helping organs deteriorate more by drinking makes no sense. For this reason we have stopped alcohol and enjoy No Alcohol Beer with our meals.

Maybe we could teach kids about respecting their bodies by not imbibing anything that will harm its delicately balanced workings. Proven to cause cancer, you’d think that would scare the bejeebas out of everyone.

Good one Paddy. There’s something very likeable about his non pretty boy look.

MikeB4

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#2930021 15-Jun-2022 20:06

I don't drink, it is incredible how threatened folks can be by me saying no to alcohol and often asking if I have a drinking problem. Then there are the alcohol pushers who try to force booze on me and when I refuse it several times they seem to think I am some kind of alien.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

alasta

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#2930120 15-Jun-2022 20:39

Like most people I drank far too much when I was younger and would like to see better protections in place to stop young people from doing what I did. These days I enjoy a glass of good wine here and there and, whilst I know it's not good for me, it's a simple pleasure that doesn't impact on the rest of my life.

Someone close to me is a non drinker because alcohol almost destroyed her many years ago, and I always keep a few soft drinks in the fridge because I admire and respect people when they tell me they don't drink. I have to admit, I enjoy a Bundaberg lemonade more than a beer these days!

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mudguard

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#2930140 15-Jun-2022 22:19

Argh but it's such a good time to be a beer lover!

Tinkerisk

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#2930168 16-Jun-2022 06:28

Alcohol? I am in control. Anytime. Everywhere. Beer and Wine, from time to time a Gin-Tonic. Only to enjoy, mostly with food and not a sip beyond that.

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Handsomedan

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#2930199 16-Jun-2022 09:03

I watched the show.

I thought it was good, but actually could've been longer - I'd say they had a 1 hour show in mind when starting and ended up with a much different show after the revelations on Paddy's drinking.

With that said, the NZ drinking culture has been one of binge and brawl for a very long time. I'm in my 50's and don't drink much at all, but when I was in my late teens (illegally drinking before 20) right through until my late 30's when we first had kids, I was a pretty heavy binge drinker. Didn't drink daily, but when I did drink it was with the intention of getting drunk and having a good time.

It wouldn't be unusual for us (wife and I) to go out on a big bender with friends on a Friday night in our 30's and spend somewhere around 10-14 hours solid drinking and partying (sometimes creeping into day drinking on Saturday, then on into the night on Saturday night, virtually unchecked). We had a great time. We spent an absolute shedload of money. We probably would have been mortgage free if we'd never had a drink, but I wouldn't trade those nights out for anything. In hindsight it was a waste of time and money, but the memories (and in some cases, lack thereof) are a part of what makes me who I am.

If I'd been raised somewhere else, I may have had a different attitude to booze - maybe more mature or more moderate, but then I also could've been exposed more to drugs or crime, so it's hard to say if anything would have been better.

I have started to allow my teenage sons a couple of drinks under supervision here and there and thankfully they haven't been exposed to partying and booze culture by us (unlike when I was growing up in the 70's with parties every weekend and adults always drinking and getting drunk - admittedly it was always a safe and fun environment, but sent the wrong messages about booze, I feel). They're a bit more mature than I was at their age and it would be hypocritical to be a harda$$ about booze with them, so hopefully they'll see our example and not get swept up in the booze culture that permeates NZ.

We have booze in the house all the time. I have a bottle of vodka that I have forgotten the age of. It's not a collectors item - it just doesn't get touched often. There's Whiskeys, Rum, Bacardi, Gin etc all there. Beer in the fridge. Wine in the fridge and in the cabinet. It hardly gets touched.

I'd say the NZ booze culture got me, but I was spat out the other side intact. Many don't get so lucky, but there's no easy fix.

It's a good show, worth watching if you haven't already and is moderately revelatory, but it's also a little sensational.

Don't know how we'd change the Kiwi binge culture, but mature discussion is a good start.

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MikeAqua

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#2930276 16-Jun-2022 10:26

I don't think NZ has 'a' drinking culture. There are multiple drinking cultures, some of which are more harmful than others. There is of course no safe level of alcohol consumption.

But it tastes good and goes well with food. If you obey the law when drinking, you can only harm yourself (unless you're pregnant/breast feeding).

Mike

johno1234

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#2930290 16-Jun-2022 11:00

alasta:

These days I enjoy a glass of good wine here and there and, whilst I know it's not good for me, it's a simple pleasure that doesn't impact on the rest of my life.

That's incorrect. Not only is a glass of red wine not bad for you, there's evidence that it is good for you.

For example: https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-red-wine

All down to moderation, which is why I do resent do-gooders getting in the way of people who do enjoy wine in moderation.

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JimmyH

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#2930292 16-Jun-2022 11:07

I'm not much of a drinker (maybe 3-5 drinks a month) and never have been, even as a teenager. But I do like the odd craft beer. In fact an icy cold hoppy craft beer on a hot summers evening is *lovely*. I understand the science, I'm an adult, and I make my own choices.

I get irritated by the endless barrage of puritanical moralising articles in the media telling me what I ought to be interested in, and what I ought to be doing (or not doing). Be it alcohol, tobacco (which, for the record, I have never consumed), sugar, exercise, eating fruit, carbon emissions, fatty food, organic food, the car I choose to drive, the shares I choose to invest in, television watching, video games, whether its appropriate to read/watch a film, book or political speaker [...].

There seems to be an awful lot of people who like to run around wagging their finger and lecturing others over personal choices that are, quite frankly, none of their darn business. So I won't be watching Mr Gower's programme.

Senecio

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#2930301 16-Jun-2022 11:28

Disclaimer: I haven't watched the program yet, I will I just haven't had time to.

Like most people my relationship with alcohol has changed through the years. As a youngster I tended to binge, as my friends did. It didn't take long for me to realise that I just wasn't enjoying it, but it still took some time to change as its just what we did when we were younger.

As I stand now I still enjoy an alcoholic beverage, or two, on a fairly regular basis. I would probably have a couple of beers on a Friday night after work for the week and again on a Sunday afternoon after my chores around the house are complete. I never drink when I drive, not even one. When I was 15 I was involved in a DUI accident and I swore I would never get behind the wheel after having even one drink. I would classify this as a healthy relationship with alcohol but I understand that many others have a very unhealthy relationship.

networkn

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#2930304 16-Jun-2022 11:40

MikeB4:

I don't drink, it is incredible how threatened folks can be by me saying no to alcohol and often asking if I have a drinking problem. Then there are the alcohol pushers who try to force booze on me and when I refuse it several times they seem to think I am some kind of alien.

Oh God, this, so much this. I have never consumed alcohol as a beverage. The number of conversations that has started where people want to know why and then start making assumptions is huge. I've had people spike my drinks, threaten me, all sorts. It's crazy.

Them : "How do you know you don't like it till you try it"

Me: "I've never been beaten half to death, but I am confident I won't like it, even having not tried it".

Handsomedan

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#2930324 16-Jun-2022 12:19

networkn:

Them : "How do you know you don't like it till you try it"

Me: "I've never been beaten half to death, but I am confident I won't like it, even having not tried it".

This genuinely made me chuckle.

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