CHARBONNEAU – New Age Temperance – Millennials, Gen Z redefine sobriety

MILLENNIALS AND Generation Z are discovering what many in my boomer generation found out – drinking too much is bad for you.

In my forties, I became aware that drinking too much alcohol was affecting my health. I would wake up with a hangover and didn’t function well. Fortunately, I realized my drinking problem and reduced, but didn’t eliminate, my consumption.

I still wonder if I drink too much.

Back then, there were no boomer temperance movements. There were the usual New Year’s resolutions to reduce drinking but they evaporated like frost on a warm spring day.

Alcohol consumption was part of the boomer culture. Everyone got together in bars and beer halls to socialize and meet potential partners.

Not like the temperance movements in the early 1900s. Back then, drunkenness among (mostly) men was a serious issue. Excessive drinking was the cause of domestic violence, poverty, and the neglect of children.

Tied into the temperance movement were women’s rights and liberation from a society that had prevented them from voting and regarded them as the possessions of men.

Additionally, the temperance movement signalled the rise of progressive politics including social reforms, labour rights and public health.

Now Millennials and Gen Z have organized temperance movements like “Sober Curious.” They are choosing to reduce or eliminate alcohol without necessarily identifying as sober.

Sensibly, they want to socialize as much as we boomers did without consuming much, or any, alcohol.

Like earlier temperance movements, there is more to the Sober Curious movement than reduced alcohol consumption.

There are financial considerations like the high cost of alcohol at a time when wages are stagnant. Millennials and Gen Z want to save for other things such as travel.

The alcohol culture and binge drinking is less prominent in younger generations. Many social media influencers advocate sobriety or “mindful drinking” – being aware of how you feel, how much you have had to drink and pausing before the next drink, maybe with a glass of water.

All which leads me to consider how much alcohol I drink; despite my misspent moments far from sobriety as a youth, I still enjoy a drink.

My consumption of six drinks a week, no more than two a day, puts me in the range of “moderate risk” if I live in Canada, to “within dietary guidelines” if I live the U.S., and I’m a “moderate consumer” if I live in the United Kingdom where the recommended maximum weekly consumption is 14 drinks a week.

Canada has the strictest guidelines in the world with one to two drinks per week classified as “Low risk,” three to six as “Moderate risk,” and over seven as “High risk (increased risk of cancer, heart disease).”

Obviously, my risk of enjoying a few drinks a week can’t vary according to the country I live in – unless there’s something in the air that reduces the risk.

It seems clear that guidelines for alcohol consumption are determined by the society in which you live as much as risks to health.

So, I’ll just carry on with my glass of Scotch and not worry about it.

David Charbonneau is a retired TRU electronics instructor who hosts a blog at http://www.eyeviewkamloops.wordpress.com.