Alcohol pushers
 

The holidays make me so uncomfortable, with all the emphasis on alcohol. I am somehow surprised at all of it. I wonder why they think it is a good idea to have discussions on it, at holiday times? Like my favorite NPR- several short shows all about this and that drink, wine, champagne. Is it so hard to NOT talk about it, just drink if you wanna, and don't advertize and tempt people trying not to drink.
I mean, these days they do not have cigarette commercials. Do they have no idea of the lives being destroyed by alcohol? My parents were alcoholics and I believe my son is too.
Why can't we be a bit more considerate of the millions who suffer with and because of alcohol?

chicory

Cha-ching.

I don't know either, but I really hope alcohol ads will go the way of cigarette ads.

To be honest, I never really noticed how many ads, TV shows, movies etc contained scenes of people drinking until now. Mind you, I realise I have been very naive about a lot of things. For example, I have never enjoyed being drunk or understood why people like it. Nausea, intellectual decline, stupid behaviour, embarrassment... what's the point? It was only recently that I realised that when people get drunk (RABF and his family for example), it's not just an accident and they didn't mean to step over the fine line between being tipsy and drunk, but that they are actually TRYING to get drunk! I have been so naive. But I digress...

RABF always asks me to choose what we watch (only because he's too lazy to choose himself) and I must say I am finding it hard to avoid shows without excessive drinking. He's not overly affected by it, but sometimes I think it's rubbing his nose in it.

OMG I have seriously noticed how every other commercial is for beer, and every tv show has people drinking all the time. it is crazy. and very frustrating.

I'll take it a step farther. Any time we sit down at a restaurant, seems like the first thing the server does is hand us a drink menu. Ask us is they can start us off with a glass of wine or a cocktail. Even a restaurant as benign as Applebee's! We literally left an IOP meeting and stopped for dinner. The gal asked if she could start us off with a cocktail, when we said no, she let us know that they had drink specials at that time. Okay, thanks, but no. I never realized how pervasive it was until we were dealing with recovery.

I'm with you all on this... I miss the days where all of these little things didn't shoot my mind to the correlation of the alcoholism in my life. Remember when drinking in movies or on tv ads didn't make you roll your eyes? Remember when getting handed a drink menu at a restaurant didn't make your body shudder? Better yet - remember when having a couple drinks was actually FUN?!

Alcohol pushing is really prevalent. But you can limit your exposure as well as your sensitivity to it.

I don't socialize with people who push alcohol on me. My friends know I almost never drink; I cut people out who keep pushing drink on me.

I rarely eat out -- when I do, I tend to pick little ethnic restaurants who don't have the permits to serve alcohol. I figure they need the support and I they usually serve good food.

I don't own a TV. Alcohol was never a part of holiday celebrations in my family.

I make really deliberate choices to avoide the irritation that pushiness leads to. I really wish I didn't have to, but I think it's sort of like being a minority in a majority culture -- kind of like my Jewish friend when everyone asks "what did you get for Christmas?" or "how do you make your Christmas ham?" :)

Alcohol is very pervasive in our society. The grocery store, next to the milk, what's that all about? I guess we who have decided on sobriety, just have to accept it is everywhere. I no longer worry about if alcohol will be around, I know it will. I choose not to drink it, some can without problems, not me. There are other beverages and I am finding ways to deal with the feelings alcohol used to mask. Alcohol isn't going anywhere, and I'm not about to take even one little sip, no matter how many commercials feature it.

[QUOTE] I would love to see this happen.

How timely to find this thread. I came across the following story today:

Hoda Kotb Says Going Wine-Free On 'Today' Was 'The Worst Decision We Have Ever Made' (VIDEO)

and was pondering the prevalence of alcohol in not only the entertainment industry, but in general. I don't watch the Today show, but was a bit floored by the "worst decision ever" comment on the hosts' decision to cut out wine during the show for 1 month. It literally made my stomach turn. Seriously, 1 month? Not drink or serve wine during what is their work day for one month? I guess I just don't understand.

It is all about money- pure and simple.........

Restaurant servers push alcohol because it's a money maker for them. The mark up on liquor is ridiculous. The bigger the bill, the bigger the tip. I know people who half the bill is for liquor.

I do not have a drinking problem, but I do know that all the ads for beer are really annoying. I too wish they would go away. Drinking X brand is not going to get you the girl in the ad!

Ugh, I don't understand it either. It was so hard last summer to go to a baseball game, my 10yo son complained about the beer smell.

However, I went to the guy friend's parents house for Christmas, and while there was alcohol being served, everyone that I saw was drinking for the apparent socialness of it, not "getting 'drunk" which was refreshing. And DS didn't complain about any smells there. I didn't drink(as I did have to drive home) but I liked how refreshing it was to see. While I would prefer my children to not drink, for I think obvious reasons, I would also like them to see people drinking alcohol the "proper" way. If that makes any sense to anyone here.

They even sell it in garages over here.!!! Can you make that one out. What about encouraging peeps to dd?? The world has truly gone mad, in England it feels the country is sodden with booze, and on every advert, every show people are depicted drinking wine. If you look at old sitcoms, say from the 70s you don't see it, so it's obviously got much much worse over the decades. It's a huge money making conglomerate and they don't care who gets sick, just sell the stuff big time.

Irony.... So I actually did land the ridiculously perfect looking girl who did the beer ad in a bikini under a waterfall.... But she's an alcoholic so I gave up drinking.

It was a good trade.

I'm actually thinking about how to handle some things when we go out. If you flip the wine glasses upside down on your table it's a signal to the server not to offer you alcohol...

I figure if we are out and anyone asks why we are not drinking I will just smile and say "because I like it a little too much" or something to shut them up because Poh is still uncomfortable with those situations.

I like drinking. I really enjoy good wine and I always had a dozen bottles of my favorite liquor in various high end brands in the past and sometimes I really think it would be nice to have a drink but it could never be nearly as nice as having my wife sober

I think there's an element of truth in people thinking (on a subconscious level) they can get the girl, live the good life, be good looking... if they drink the products advertised.

My RABF told me yesterday that he doesn't feel tempted to drink when he sees other people drinking (not sure exactly how much truth there is in that one!), but that watching people drink on TV is quite hard. I think it might have something to do with the fact the people he knows who drink have big problems in their lives and drink to get drunk long after it's anything to do with being social. Being sober now he can see what I've seen about these pallid and emaciated people for a long time... the depressing nature of their drinking. Not a good advertisement for drinking.

People on TV, on the other hand, are always healthy and happy. Nothing bad comes of their drinking, much like those of us who are able to drink socially and in moderation. Ever see an ad where the main characters are drunk and silly, jaundiced and abusive?

Anyway, I had wanted to introduce him to the joys of Mad Men (we need a new series), but realise now it's not a good idea on account of the fact basically ever scene involves heavy scotch drinking!

That's because restaurants get a huge percent of profit from alcohol.

I've been sober 21 years and I think it's about the same as it used to be. I was very sensitive to ads and people drinking when I got sober. Now, thankfully, I don't notice it. I avoided bars (still don't go into them) and many restaurants for a while. Now I simply say "no thank you" and focus on food. I think that as we get used to being sober and it becomes part of our identity we get accustomed to being non-drinkers in a world where most people drink (most non-alcoholically).

I usually just smile and say, "Iced tea, please." If anyone asks if I'm sure I don't want anything else I just say, "I'm good, thanks." On the VERY rare occasions people ask "why" (whatever possesses people to ask, I wonder?), I just say, "I don't drink" or "I don't drink anymore" (depending on whether the person previously knew me to drink). And finally, for the terminally dense who then go on to ask WHY I don't drink (or why I quit), I simply say, "I decided it isn't good for me." Who can argue with that? Who can draw any inferences from that? If they conclude I might be an alcoholic, well, they might be right. Or I might just be watching my weight or watching my money or recently have converted to Islam or Mormonism. Nobody's business.

I've never had it get beyond that point. If it did, I might have to demonstrate that I can still THROW a drink...

But seriously, in four and a half years I've had people ask why I'm not drinking maybe three or four times. It's a way bigger deal in our own heads than anyone else's.

I'm glad I don't watch tv. Not seeing all the booze ads is helping I'm sure.