Alcohol is a common poison; One can have fun (& frolic), joy and happiness in life without alcohol too!
Why Alcohol Is the Deadliest Drug, https://www.addictioncenter.com/community/why-alcohol-is-the-deadliest-drug/, 13th Dec. 2017
I would like to share my personal experience about alcohol.
If I recall correctly, while I was studying in First Year B.Sc. in Ruia college in Bombay/Mumbai (1980-81), I did a first-aid and health related optional mini-course conducted by a doctor and supervised by a young college teacher.
Even today I recall quite clearly that at the oral exam at the end of the course (after which certificates were provided), I was asked by the doctor about what was the most common poison or something on those lines. The doctor had taught well and perhaps I had heard his classes well and so I said the right answer quickly - alcohol. I recall that the doctor and my teacher were very happy with this answer particularly, and the other right answers I gave then. I think I topped that mini-course (mini) examination. I am sharing that just as a factoid rather than as a boast.
But in later years, as I went abroad for my first visit and stay in Brussels, Belgium in 1986-87, I came under the general ambiance there which was encouraging of social drinking of alcohol. I mean, I felt I should join in and be part of the crowd in a great modern European city which was far more prosperous and advanced materially than my home region of Mumbai city (where I was working then) and surrounding satellite towns (like Dombivli where I was residing then). I mean, I felt that Brussels society had advanced more than my Mumbai/Dombivli society, and so I should follow that more advanced society. So I started engaging in social drinking of alcohol - wine and beer mainly. I had never even touched a beer bottle in my life until then - no consumption of alcohol whatsoever earlier, except the minimal amount in some medical syrups and other liquids prescribed by my doctors over time. In later months and years as I had other foreign stints, I moved on to whiskey, vodka etc. and rum, when back in India. It got me acceptance in some social circles that I wanted to be in.
But my digestive system was poor right from my childhood. I joke that it was meant to digest mainly curd-rice and some sambhar-rice, and beverages like tea and coffee! The alcohol I consumed in those years played its part in wrecking my digestive system to a point where it started seriously interfering in my general life.
The doctor and my teacher in Ruia college had done a wonderful job in teaching me that alcohol was a common poison, and I had learnt it well and displayed that learning at the oral exam, which made the doctor and my college teacher happy. But when I got into the real life world where I had to earn my livelihood, outside of my protected and safe college environment, I fell for the same common poison - alcohol! While I did not become a regular alcoholic, even the social drinking that I did was enough to poison my system to the point that my digestion became very poor.
I think in India and many other countries of the world today, including USA and Western Europe, alcohol consumption as a socially acceptable and even sometimes socially encouraged norm, is a reality in many social groups. But I think the truth is that those who stay away from alcohol typically stay more physically healthy especially in tropical countries like India, though they may find that they do not fit in with some social circles and clubs.
I would suggest that it is better to keep away from social circles and clubs that requires or obliges one to consume the common poison, alcohol. Life can be fun and happy ***without alcohol*** too! I have stayed away from alcohol from the early 1990s and so have had fun, joy and happiness in life ***without alcohol***. I repeat that it is my experience that you can have fun (& frolic), joy and happiness in life without alcohol too!
I would like to share my personal experience about alcohol.
If I recall correctly, while I was studying in First Year B.Sc. in Ruia college in Bombay/Mumbai (1980-81), I did a first-aid and health related optional mini-course conducted by a doctor and supervised by a young college teacher.
Even today I recall quite clearly that at the oral exam at the end of the course (after which certificates were provided), I was asked by the doctor about what was the most common poison or something on those lines. The doctor had taught well and perhaps I had heard his classes well and so I said the right answer quickly - alcohol. I recall that the doctor and my teacher were very happy with this answer particularly, and the other right answers I gave then. I think I topped that mini-course (mini) examination. I am sharing that just as a factoid rather than as a boast.
But in later years, as I went abroad for my first visit and stay in Brussels, Belgium in 1986-87, I came under the general ambiance there which was encouraging of social drinking of alcohol. I mean, I felt I should join in and be part of the crowd in a great modern European city which was far more prosperous and advanced materially than my home region of Mumbai city (where I was working then) and surrounding satellite towns (like Dombivli where I was residing then). I mean, I felt that Brussels society had advanced more than my Mumbai/Dombivli society, and so I should follow that more advanced society. So I started engaging in social drinking of alcohol - wine and beer mainly. I had never even touched a beer bottle in my life until then - no consumption of alcohol whatsoever earlier, except the minimal amount in some medical syrups and other liquids prescribed by my doctors over time. In later months and years as I had other foreign stints, I moved on to whiskey, vodka etc. and rum, when back in India. It got me acceptance in some social circles that I wanted to be in.
But my digestive system was poor right from my childhood. I joke that it was meant to digest mainly curd-rice and some sambhar-rice, and beverages like tea and coffee! The alcohol I consumed in those years played its part in wrecking my digestive system to a point where it started seriously interfering in my general life.
The doctor and my teacher in Ruia college had done a wonderful job in teaching me that alcohol was a common poison, and I had learnt it well and displayed that learning at the oral exam, which made the doctor and my college teacher happy. But when I got into the real life world where I had to earn my livelihood, outside of my protected and safe college environment, I fell for the same common poison - alcohol! While I did not become a regular alcoholic, even the social drinking that I did was enough to poison my system to the point that my digestion became very poor.
I think in India and many other countries of the world today, including USA and Western Europe, alcohol consumption as a socially acceptable and even sometimes socially encouraged norm, is a reality in many social groups. But I think the truth is that those who stay away from alcohol typically stay more physically healthy especially in tropical countries like India, though they may find that they do not fit in with some social circles and clubs.
I would suggest that it is better to keep away from social circles and clubs that requires or obliges one to consume the common poison, alcohol. Life can be fun and happy ***without alcohol*** too! I have stayed away from alcohol from the early 1990s and so have had fun, joy and happiness in life ***without alcohol***. I repeat that it is my experience that you can have fun (& frolic), joy and happiness in life without alcohol too!
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