Happy & Healthy

Is not drinking a taboo?

‘Ah, nice. I'll have a glass of wine.’ I definitely chant this within the first five minutes after I plop down on a terrace. That wine can be replaced by gin and tonic, Vedett, or Sauvignon Blanc. I sometimes order a double espresso for the sake of it (the time, that is), but by the second round, there’s an alcoholic treat on the menu. I love it, Bob is not my middle name, and I sometimes hit it a bit too hard in the form of a bottle or two. Not alone, don’t worry dear readers. By the way, from Monday to Thursday, I drink the bare minimum, because the bottle doesn’t necessarily have to pop during an episode of Gilmore Girls (that’s what I think, anyway). But the weekend brings a drink (or two) with it. And you know what’s so strange? The reactions when I do say no (which I do quite rarely). ‘But one is fine,‘ is the classic when you have to drive. ’Oh, how uncozy,‘ is a lovely second. And: ’Are you pregnant?‘ gets the third prize. Why does everyone get nervous or think all sorts of things when you’re not drinking?

‘Ah, nice. I'll have a glass of wine.’

I know someone who doesn’t (well, almost doesn’t) drink, and out of solidarity, I also go alcohol-free with that person. If you then respond to my sparkling water with lemon with ‘What, no wine?’, you’re in the running for a verbal spanking. A glass of wine, some beer, or a cocktail now and then seems like a social obligation. As if you’re not completely a-okay in your head without a sip of the wet stuff. And honestly, after a few promille in the blood, it’s usually the other way around. I’m swaying sober and stiff from left to right to the music (even my moves are smoother with a drink), and the level of a conversation after a hundred and twenty minutes and some promille tends to lurch towards rock bottom. And if you’re fully into the vino with a companion, you can have a ridiculously deep conversation. No, this is nonsense and you know it. Overconsumption doesn’t cause Korsakov for nothing, and that makes the chance of intelligent profundity nil. So don’t think your conversation material takes on Einstein proportions when you stumble to the bathroom afterward or a sip of Bianco runs down your décolletage. But where does that social pressure, or maybe it’s expectation, to drink come from?

In a small sample on the editorial team, the meter swings to boring in the case of alcohol-free (and pregnant or healthy). But also whether you then have to leave that glass standing. Could that be it? Is drinking alone an even bigger taboo than not drinking? When I’m alone, I also pop the cork on the bottle. But when I sit down with a designated driver, that Grillo from Sicily tastes just fine to me. Even though I’m suspiciously cautious when ordering, I count the glasses and am particularly aware of my companion’s alcohol-free status.

In a small sample on the editorial team, the meter swings to boring in the case of alcohol-free.

Per capita, about 7 liters of pure alcohol is consumed per year. SEVEN liters. And you and I drink approximately a quarter liter of alcohol per day, the diluted version. A person consumes 72 liters of beer, 22 liters of wine, and 3.5 liters of distilled spirits. Per year. And then the kids, non-alcoholics, grandparents are just included in the count. In my hometown, almost every resident spends a month inebriated (something with carnival), but seventy-two, twenty-two, and three and a half… That’s a lot, dear heavy users of mine. Over eighty percent of adults drink, of which ten percent heavily. As in more than is good for you and your liver. So let’s agree to abolish ‘one-is-fine’ and ‘what-no-wine?’ when he or she prefers not to spend the evening under the influence. And cheers for when you yourself enjoy a drink.