Booze calculator

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30500372

How does your drinking measure up to the average in countries around the world? 

Apparently I'm Armenian. 5.2 litres per year ;)

Ya Haven a Laugh The Kiwi average is 4.2 liters a year 

after reading all that I can certainly say I need a beer

Emerson Bird Dog to be exact

Wow, the eye opener for me is just how much the world drinks. The survey asks about your drinks in the last week only, so they're basically assuming that if you drink, then you must drink every single week. Very bizarre to me that this is considered normal. I've had one glass of wine in the last week, so this survey assumes I drink 0 litres of beer and spirits per year, so I can't really get a true result for myself, I don't drink enough to fit into the one week measurement...

Alcohol is a very impactful drug, for it to be so normalised is such a double standard in our society and the way we talk about other drugs. 

It's BY FAR the most impactful drug on our society as a whole. 

Smokers are commonly vilified for their impact on the health system, but studies have shown that they more than pay their way via tax on cigarettes. There are decent taxes on alcohol, do they cover the impact on our health system? I'd love to know actually. 

I regret the tequila last night greatly.

I am supposed to be average but those figures mean nothing to me. I know when I've had enough and know when to stop.

What an honorable man you are.

That is what happens when you get older.

I was a pretty terrible binge drinker from about 16 to 25 and have many regrets from that period. 

Also a lot of fun times, and great friends made, of course, but I do wish I had understood the role alcohol was playing in my life, and that other things were so much more important than that. 

I'm glad I get that now at least. 

As a recovering alcoholic, I learned that just one drink its all over. For me, the tolerance is none. For others they maybe more. Alcohol is very much an under-rated addictive substance

When I read about it, it's not underrated at all. The facts are all there. It's very obvious.

I feel it's underrated by the general public just because it's so normalised, and the media shy away from reporting the truth. It's almost like eating food here. Aside from former alcoholics, everyone is basically in favour of drinking as a national pastime, it's just so ingrained. 

I had to laugh when sitting at a pub once, everyone drink in hand, someone mentions P, and then we're all talking about the P problem and what should be done about it. I quietly survey the table and realise that everyone sitting at it except me drinks at least one drink every single day. I made a comment to that effect, can't remember word for word, but something like "meanwhile we're all sitting here with our daily drink", and everyone laughs! They thought I was telling a joke! 

I would venture to say that 99% of NZ's alcoholics have no idea they are actually an alcoholic, and that they would argue it to the death if I was to tell them they are. 

Vader, I wish you all the very best on dealing with your situation. Stay strong. Perhaps one day, we'll meet and I buy you a non alcoholic drink. Why? because it is a tough fight and I respect those trying to help themselves overcome it.

Well done mate, that's really impressive. 

Yeh mate I hear you. Booze and other stuff nearly destroyed my life. I haven't had a drink now for 21 years. I had to hit rock bottom first though sadly.

I ended up drinking every day/night, living in bedsits and my life totally sucked and I was out of control. Got thrown into rehab many times but it never worked. I was given one month to live back in 1994 and for about 7 years I was one of those people you see getting their food from rubbish bins as they have spent all their money on grog. 

At one point the only way I could get some sober time was by putting my money card in the post to myself so I had no access to buying alcohol for a few days(!?) It was a crazy scheme but it helped me cold turkey a few days without any booze.Tough times I tell you.

Anyhow I slowly was able to build up longer sober spells from using this tactic and then in 1997 after years of trying to stop drinking and always failing, I simply got to the point where I had had enough, I just couldn't do it any more and I have never had a drink since.

The first year was hard: just seeing a beer ad on TV set me off but I got through it and now I am not bothered by booze at all.

There's more to the story but I ant gonna bore you all by writing a novel!

Total respect to you both. (Needs a 'tips hat' Emogie.)

This ^

Also posting your bank card to yourself is a genius idea. 

Might suggest this to my better half to control the spending.

Amazing story. Much respect.

So much respect. 

Its funny how people associate getting on the booze as being fun, social and all that because it was the total opposite for me.

But I don't blame the booze, I have to take responsibility for my own actions: my reasons for drinking were all the wrong reasons and it totally unhealthy.

I think Sid Vicious being my role model while I was a teenager may or may not have had something to do with all this :D

That said peoples attitudes towards drinking/not drinking have definitely improved over the years: when I first stopped drinking people used to give non drinkers a hard time, that doesn't seem to be the case these days.

It varies for me from Ethiopia to Ghana. I feel so out of place now lol

Is Russia believed to be the heaviest drinking country? Actually I though that was all bias 'cause I know several great people from Russia and Ukraine and they are all super healthy and pro active lifestyle. Alcohol is rather an exception.

True. I have to be really careful with the doze as I tend to go from courageous and "don't care" attitude to being numb and sleepy.

I've spent a lot of time in Russia and women often don't drink but the men drink heavily, and it's hard drinking. You sit around a table with a bottle of vodka or three and some salted herring and just do shot rounds until its done. Beer wasnt even legally considered alcohol until a few years ago. 

A lot of bottles of vodka can't even be closed once opened because there's no point building that feature.

And its very cheap, you can get a bottle of vodka from a news stand for a few dollars, it's bad stuff but that doesn't really matter.