Quitting Caffeine

Re:Quitting Caffeine by pdog on Monday August 14, 2017 @05:00PM (#15012838)

> One of the more interesting comments in the article is in regards to the social stigma of only consuming water during meals - people who have quit alcohol for various reasons have faced the same stigma when going out with friends.

That stigma is entirely self-perception. No one cares or even notices what anyone else drinking.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Quitting Caffeine by jessriedel on Monday August 14, 2017 @05:10PM (#15012940)

This is definitely false. I've had multiple women tell me the dominant thing they noticed on a first date was that I didn't order a drink. Likewise, many people can attest that the social encouragement to get everyone drinking in group situations is very explicit. Shared consumption of intoxicating substances is closely monitored by everyone in the group, and is not same thing as the true fact that no one cares whether you have a brown or black belt.

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Re:Quitting Caffeine by exhilaration on Monday August 14, 2017 @05:19PM (#15013017)

I overheard one of my male co-workers telling a female co-worker that he doesn't drink. Her reaction was a literal "eww".

That's when I learned that - much like smokers - drinkers were a tribe.

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Re:Quitting Caffeine by seanp2k2 on Tuesday August 15, 2017 @03:25AM (#15016192)

Were? Smoking isn't very cool anymore, but drinking is still pretty cool. It's losing popularity in some circles, but in pop culture, rappers are still in the club ordering bottles, and not of Voss. Weed has a big chance to shake up the alcohol industry, because you can smoke like a Cummins 12-valve until you pass out, then feel fine the next morning. You also don't die if you have too much to smoke. It does have to do some work to get out of the goofy / high schooler / college bro image, but I think they can make it classy (esp stuff like vape pens...the whole blow torch + dabber + water pipe thing has pretty limited appeal because it's too involved and conspicuous).

Coming soon to a state near you.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Quitting Caffeine by sulam on Tuesday August 15, 2017 @10:32AM (#15018495)

I am suspicious that smoking pot is just as bad for your lungs as smoking tobacco and we simply don't have decades of evidence yet. It stands to reason that inhaling burnt organics is going to have many of the same effects regardless of which plant is involved.

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Re:Quitting Caffeine by enobrev on Tuesday August 15, 2017 @12:06PM (#15019452)

That's likely true, although with legalization has come the popularity of - and even preference to - vape pens and edibles, which weren't as accessible.

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Re:Quitting Caffeine by dagw on Tuesday August 15, 2017 @08:02AM (#15017372)

make it classy (esp stuff like vape pens

I don't know. It feels like vape pens is one of the least classy things going on at the moment. I think the only thing that can make "weed" acceptable and "classy" is some variation on fancy edibles (or perhaps drinkables to bring the discussion full circle)

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Re:Quitting Caffeine by flashman on Tuesday August 15, 2017 @12:00AM (#15015340)

Not only that, some people leap to the conclusion that you don't drink because you're an alcoholic, and from there to the judgement that you're unreliable and untrustworthy. (Not that being an alcoholic makes you those things - but that's their perception learned from our culture.)

Another unhealthy thing about drinking culture is how it stigmatises teetotallers as some moralising oppressers (thanks Prohibition), when they might just not want to feel like shit in the morning.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Quitting Caffeine by pluma on Tuesday August 15, 2017 @04:50AM (#15016500)

There are plenty of reasons not to drink, though.

Maybe you're driving. Maybe you're on medication. Maybe if you're a woman you're trying to get pregnant (or already are).

Either this "if you don't drink you must be an alcoholic" thing is entirely American or lots of people on HN hang around with the wrong crowd.

EDIT: Also being "on call" is a good reason not to drink. Though if you need an excuse every time you go out with your friends, you deserve better friends.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Quitting Caffeine by Mtinie on Tuesday August 15, 2017 @05:45AM (#15016747)

Could be. The San Francisco drinking culture is pretty aggressive, but then again, so is NYC's, Lisbon's, Sydney's, or Shanghai's.

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Re:Quitting Caffeine by pluma on Tuesday August 15, 2017 @05:51AM (#15016773)

I'm in rural Germany. For 20-somethings it's perfectly normal to have designated drivers who don't drink, no questions asked. If you're a woman, most people will suspect you're pregnant but it's too early to be socially acceptable to ask you about it.

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Re:Quitting Caffeine by Mtinie on Tuesday August 15, 2017 @06:58AM (#15017046)

Transportation plays a larger role in determining "tolerance" for how socially acceptable that is. Urban environments, with their preponderance of cars for hire reduces the need for designated drivers.

I live in a suburban area in the U.S. and what you report is similar to what I've experienced, too.

It could also be that my social circle is older, and many of us are parents, so it's not as convenient to go out for a hard night's drinking.

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Re:Quitting Caffeine by pluma on Tuesday August 15, 2017 @08:48AM (#15017660)

Yeah, with friends who are parents the designated driver of the two also usually is the one who has to take care of the kid (especially when it's a very young kid).

But even when I'm out in town non-drinkers aren't bullied into drinking. If it's a party and they're not drinking (especially if they're men and thus pregnancy is off the table) someone will likely push them on it because it's uncommon but no more than vegetarians or anyone else with dietary restrictions.

However in that case "I don't drink because I don't like being drunk" or "I don't drink because I don't take it well" is a perfectly acceptable answer. Then again, a lot of the people I'm talking about are goths so straight edge / clean living isn't too uncommon.

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Re:Quitting Caffeine by Turing_Machine on Tuesday August 15, 2017 @01:54AM (#15015858)

> Shared consumption of intoxicating substances is closely monitored by everyone in the group

Get better friends.

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Re:Quitting Caffeine by pmarreck on Tuesday August 15, 2017 @08:25AM (#15017512)

Once upon a first date, I ordered a Manhattan and finished it, she ordered a wine and took 3 sips of it... I knew it wasn't going to work lol

that said, some women become terrible (in more bad ways than good) when they get tipsy... including my current

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Re:Quitting Caffeine by appleflaxen on Monday August 14, 2017 @07:11PM (#15013872)

sometimes i drink; sometimes i don't. when i don't, somebody will notice and comment about 90% of the time.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Quitting Caffeine by wyclif on Tuesday August 15, 2017 @03:21AM (#15016181)

Unless, that is, you're dining out. I do drink occasional alcoholic beverages but the last time I was out to dinner with my family and the waitress asked if we'd be interested in drinks and I declined while asking for an additional water, she gave me a not-quite-concealed eye roll. The message was loud and clear: she wasn't going to make much off my table. I can hardly blame her. Tips are how waitstaff make money, and if you order drinks the check is going to be a lot bigger.

This is also why some people say weird things like you're "cheap" if you don't order drinks (especially if you are paying).

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Quitting Caffeine by kerkeslager on Monday August 14, 2017 @05:29PM (#15013107)

This isn't true. People frequently notice that I'm not drinking and comment on it.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Quitting Caffeine by NegativeK on Tuesday August 15, 2017 @12:40AM (#15015548)

> No one cares or even notices what anyone else drinking.

Some care, but that's usually easy for me to get away from. They usually notice, and they usually go through the standard comments on it.

[ Parent | on HN ]