Anonymous wrote:I think part of it is all the recent research suggesting there really aren't any benefits and it increases your chances of cancer. Cancer is on the rise and so many of us know multiple people who got it/have it/barely survived it or died. When you have been through it with someone close to you-the surgeries/chemo/suffering and you think well...if I stop drinking that's one way to significantly decrease my chances, it's a simple enough choice. Sure we can all still get it. but why not decrease chances?

Whatever, MAGA.

Anonymous wrote:It is gaining steam, as multiple reasons come to play at the same time:

- legalization of weed, but this is leading to increase of gummies (some without THC) on the market

- better tasting NA beers, wines

- Wegovy/Ozempic increase in popularity, has a well known side effect of decreasing the desire and craving for alcohol

With that said, I think some of the sobriety popularity is limited to pockets of the population. When I go back to where I grew up, breweries and bars still have a very large presence.

Those trendy craft brewery bar and restaurants are closing at a rapid clip.

I think part of it is all the recent research suggesting there really aren't any benefits and it increases your chances of cancer. Cancer is on the rise and so many of us know multiple people who got it/have it/barely survived it or died. When you have been through it with someone close to you-the surgeries/chemo/suffering and you think well...if I stop drinking that's one way to significantly decrease my chances, it's a simple enough choice. Sure we can all still get it. but why not decrease chances?

Anonymous wrote:Def a trend. Joe Rogan just announced he’s given up booze.

https://nypost.com/2025/04/19/health/joe-rogan-gave-up-alcohol-because-drinking-isnt-healthy/

Whatever, MAGA.

I agree with the PP who said it's interesting what you notice about alcohol when it's no longer part of your regular life. I haven't given up alcohol all together, but I rarely have it and, when I do, it's never more than 2 drinks. Here's what I've noticed:

There are so many more mocktails marketed now. Some restaurants have a half page of NA drinks and I think it's great. It allows the patron to feel like they are having something special, or more interesting than water, and shows that the restaurant cares about the customers who aren't looking for alcohol.

If someone said, "I have to have a piece of cake after work to wind down everyday," no one would think that was normal. Why is it "normal" if it's a glass of wine or a beer?

My spouse doesn't snore like a freight train anymore. He only drinks occasionally now and he no longer keeps me awake.

When my kid was in rec sports a long time ago, there would be a parent or two who would show up with a sneaky container of wine and the parents would all drink.....at an 8 year old's soccer game. That's weird. Why did we do that? That's really not normal.

In my 40s, drunk people are embarassing.

Anonymous wrote:Its soooo stupid to drink. It causes brain damage too!!!

https://www.foxnews.com/health/alcohol-linked-brain-damage-heavy-drinkers-study-finds

People: see? Do you see it now?? ITS THE STUPID MAGAS BEHIND THIS PURITANISM!!

The PP even quoted Fox News.

Drinking cannabis infused drinks is the new hot ticket.

Anonymous wrote:Middle aged 40+ and older affluent men within earshot were asking about 0% beers. These are the type of men who’d be drinking either wine their wife at dinner or a draft IPA, bourbon or scotch.

April is long past dry January.

This is all trump’s fault! Stupid teatotaler MAGA

Def a trend. Joe Rogan just announced he’s given up booze.

https://nypost.com/2025/04/19/health/joe-rogan-gave-up-alcohol-because-drinking-isnt-healthy/

Anonymous wrote:Being healthy is definitely a trend on the upswing, and alcohol is literally a poison. NA beer is also much lower in calories. It's a great option. I prefer kombucha when I am out, though.

I am newly dry! I love beer but I don’t like belly fat. I also think cocktails are too strong (a wee too much ethanol or whatever ) +I’m into exercise and body image

- female

I saw a clean cut ~40 year old man behind me buying a 6-pack of NA 0% Heineken… and a fifth of top shelf bourbon. I really wanted to ask him about the juxtaposition!

Its soooo stupid to drink. It causes brain damage too!!!

https://www.foxnews.com/health/alcohol-linked-brain-damage-heavy-drinkers-study-finds

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Went to a restaurant last night with 10 people and less than half ordered cocktails and alcohol. But the ones that did definitely made up for the rest of us sober people!

Maybe the drunks missed the recent revelations that there is:

NO safe amount of ALCOHOL.

Newsflash: you’re going to die, too.

Yeah, that's true. No need to make it a competition though. You can go first.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Went to a restaurant last night with 10 people and less than half ordered cocktails and alcohol. But the ones that did definitely made up for the rest of us sober people!

Maybe the drunks missed the recent revelations that there is:

NO safe amount of ALCOHOL.

Newsflash: you’re going to die, too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't even plan to give it up completely but once you're sober you realize how cringe drinking is and how the masses are under a spell. I don't even want to be associated with alcohol anymore.

Why do you reflexively need a glass of wine or cocktail right when you sit down at a restaurant? Why do you reflexively need beers at an MLB baseball game? Why do middle aged parents at a travel sports tournament or work conference reflexively need to act like unreformed frat boys and sorority girls?

A hundred million Americans trained to act like Pavlov's dogs. I'm now convinced entire industry is a predatory psyop to ruin lives and dumb the masses down.

Oh you have a lot in store for you when you wake up to Pavlovian training PSYOPs. It's not just the liquor industry, it is everything. Everything.

Turn on, Tune In, Drop Out. <-- General philosophy to break away from the Matrix, not to go wild with acid.

This is such an interesting convo to me! Can you/others recommend some other things to dig into? I definitely am feeling this way about alcohol.

Not sure you are understanding what I was referring to though.

But look behind the curtain on any topic, and you will learn a lot about how much you are lied to by the media, culture, people, advertising, politics, etc. etc.

Everything is a con of some sort, and everything is manipulated and spun a certain way for various reasons.

Profit, profit, profit. I also remember when physicians were promoting cigarettes. They’re a callous bunch, at least most of them. Buyer beware.

“A healthy person is lost revenue.”

So true.

Camel cigs were heavily marketed by doctors as the preferred choice. Guess they had the best salesmen, or maybe Joe Camel was considered neutral and appealing to the largest demographics.

Cocaine used to be prescribed by doctors for depression. Now it's SSRIs and the amphetamines are prescribed for weight loss. Crazy world.

Even crazier how many people are blind to it all, until the majority figure something out, then suddenly everyone is like "I always knew that!"