“Why don't I drink alcohol? Does there have to be an answer? Why does society assume that if you don't drink alcohol there must be a reason? “I don’t see people being asked why they don’t eat cheese or green beans.” These are Patricia's words, she has always been abstemious and fed up with the constant supervision to which she is subjected for not drinking alcohol. It is one of the testimonies that we have collected on the occasion of World Alcohol-Free Day, which is celebrated every November 15 with the aim of raising awareness among the world's population about the physical and psychological damage caused by its consumption.
“I'm tired of hearing that I'm pregnant, that I've had an alcohol coma and I've been afraid of it, that I'm on a diet or if it's because of religion. "Everything is very crazy," explains Alicia, who points out that she doesn't drink alcohol simply "because I don't like alcohol or its effects: I've put up with a lot of drunk people and I hate it, I don't like the option of losing control." Nor am I motivated by the idea of having a good time for 7 hours and a very bad time for the next 24.”
Another abstainer, in this case due to an alcohol problem and has been clean for 25 years, complains that “vegans or intolerant people are not asked why they don't drink. It is accepted and that's it, they are even helped and accompanied. However, for those of us who don't drink it is insisted upon and it becomes very tiresome. I'm old enough, but I guess this bombardment must be worse for young people, who are made to feel like they're not part of the group if they don't drink." This is corroborated by Anna, 20 years old, who assures, however, that although social pressure exists, more and more people respect and applaud her choice not to drink alcohol: “many people tell me that they wish they could be like me,” she says. .
It is true, because even minimal alcohol consumption entails health risks, according to numerous scientific researches. One of them, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, warned that just one alcoholic drink a day could increase the risk of breast cancer by 5%, reaching 17% in the case of oropharyngeal cancer and 30%. % in the esophagus. This is corroborated by the World Cancer Research Fund, which warned in 2016 that a simple drink a day can be directly related to the development of seven types of cancer: oral cavity, colon, liver, breast, pharynx and larynx, esophagus and stomach. Another investigation, in this case carried out by the University of Oxford (United Kingdom), published in The British Medical Journal, warned that even an intake of five glasses of wine a week could affect brain function.
The World Health Organization (WHO) established World No Alcohol Day to warn about the harm caused by its consumption at an individual level, but also to reflect on its social effect. This organization indicates that approximately 13.5% of the total deaths of people between 20 and 39 years old are attributable to alcohol, and that there is a causal relationship between the harmful consumption of alcohol and a series of mental and behavioral disorders, in addition to non-communicable diseases and trauma. The WHO also indicates that every year there are 3 million deaths in the world due to the harmful consumption of alcohol, which represents 5.3% of all deaths.
Although the consumption figures and their consequences on public health continue to be devastating, something is changing socially with regard to alcohol consumption. Thanks to the healthy boom that has emerged in recent times, not drinking alcohol has become a symbol of health and self-care, far from the old “don't trust someone who doesn't drink alcohol” that many of us have grown up with.
We saw a good example that non-alcoholic drinks are here to stay at the latest edition of the Bar Convent Berlin (BCB), the most important fair in the world for bar culture and spirits, which took place in the German capital. last October. One of the hotspots of the festival was Low
Bartender Alberto Pizarro, brand ambassador of Dilmah, agrees with her, who is working on a line of products for non-alcoholic cocktails that will be released in 2024. For Pizarro, “it is time to eradicate the idea that non-alcoholic cocktails take away things from you.” and enhance the message that it actually brings them to you. Beyond the fact that not drinking alcohol can be associated with intangible values such as status and other qualities linked to lifestyle, it can also provide tangible things, that is, have concrete effects on the brain that, in the end, are the same ones that the consumer looks for when drinking. a cocktail with alcohol.”
In this sense, Pizarro assures that in many countries, led by the United Kingdom, new trends are already being worked on in non-alcoholic cocktails that include the use of nootropics (memory stimulants or cognitive enhancers) or adaptogens (which provide calming sensations). . The challenge for all those who work in the non-alcoholic beverage sector is, broadly speaking, “to achieve sensations similar to those provided by alcohol, but without alcohol, through substances such as theanine, for example, present in the "tea, capable of stimulating brain areas that influence well-being and that cannot be activated with, say, pineapple juice."
Despite the emphatic figures and warnings from international organizations linked to public health, alcohol continues to be present in our daily lives and is the protagonist of parties and celebrations. Perhaps it has something to do with what Ramón points out, another of the testimonies in the report, also currently abstaining due to health problems derived, in fact, from times of heavy consumption: “with the frenetic life that we are forced to lead, We need to allow ourselves to relax. Many times those two glasses of wine at the end of the week are the only way we can find to reduce tension. It is not optimal, of course, but we already deny ourselves too many things.”
In fact, although times are changing and the boom in healthy eating also affects our relationship with alcohol, in many contexts there is still a tendency to associate being abstemious with a certain emotional rigidity, something that greatly bothers some of them. “Sometimes they have told me that I am not trustworthy for not drinking alcohol,” explains Patricia, who also leads a punk-rock band. In the world of music, where there is constantly alcohol, I have been told 'well, what a rocker you are.'"
These types of comments confirm that the regular practice of an obviously harmful habit continues to be well regarded on a social level. “Sometimes I pour myself a drink and make myself drink to be socially accepted and not have to answer questions, because many times I don't feel like it,” says Victoria, who has been abstaining for a long time because she doesn't like alcohol. Susana, for her part, who stopped drinking while pregnant and has not started again, is also tired of justifying herself. "I even once, in a bar, heard the waiter say: 'There's the boring one in the group who comes just to laugh.'"
In addition to the health problems associated with alcohol consumption, the WHO warns that it “brings significant social and economic losses to individuals and society in general.” It is explained in almost the same words by the chef Raül Balam, who has told his story of alcohol addiction and his subsequent detoxification in the book Enganchado (Cúpula, 2023), written by the journalist Carme Gasull. “I was reborn the day I entered a clinic in 2013. Until that day I didn't know what it was like to live and since then I have gained many things,” explains the chef, who decided to capture the journey that their relationship has entailed in a book. with alcohol. “With these pages I intend to help people who find themselves in the same situation, but there is also a selfish part: I want people to know that I am addicted to shield myself,” says Balam, who still today, ten years later , takes drastic measures to keep at bay “a disease that will accompany me for life.”
“What I constantly do is protect myself,” explains the chef of the Moments restaurant. I never drink from a glass, always from a glass. If they put the water in a glass, I ask them to take it to me. I never toast and when I go to social events and I see that the mood of the meeting is changing because people are drinking and I am no longer part of that movie, I go home with my head held high.” Since he has given up alcohol, “I feel, enjoy and accept sadness, something I didn't do before. In fact, I scheduled my trips depending on whether there were bars to go to drink and that has made me miss out on many things: I have not been able to sleep in the desert or go on a spiritual retreat or a safari. Addiction took over me. Did you have good service in the restaurant? I was going to the bar to celebrate. But if I had bad service I would go to the bar and spend it the same way: drinking.”
Addiction, in fact, is not something that is generated overnight, but “it is produced by a series of changes in the brain that occur as the drinks and time accumulate,” he explains, for For his part, psychologist Bernardo Ruiz, addiction specialist and founder and director of the Victoria Program, aimed at ending alcohol addiction in a period of ten days. Ruiz explains that “not everyone needs the same number of drinks or the same time to end up developing an addiction,” since the genetic factor plays a decisive role. “I always use the same example to explain how addiction works. Isn't it true that if several people go to the beach in full sun, some will end up getting burned and others won't? The same thing happens with alcohol: not everyone needs the same amount to end up addicted.”
This is also how Daniel, another of the teetotalers we consulted for this report, views it. “I have an addictive nature since I was little. When I become obsessed with something, a book or a discipline, I don't stop until I know everything. I can spend sleepless nights researching a topic. That is why I am clear that the best thing for me is to live away from alcohol, because I know positively that I will not be able to maintain a healthy relationship with it."
Taking into account that “we live in a very permissive society not only with alcohol consumption, but with drunkenness, we are receiving inciting messages from childhood,” continues Ruiz, very critical of the lukewarmness with which this habit is socially perceived. In his opinion, “alcohol is only condemned when it causes violence, but never in other cases. “It is still seen as a sign of joy.” This is why it is difficult to accept that you have an addiction. Balam explains: “My parents have always told me that I drink very quickly, but it is difficult to accept the dimension of the disease because society still does not understand it.”
That is why, within the framework of the Victoria Program, management of the afterward is also worked on. “Within the program, the different situations in which alcohol can be offered and the possible responses are highlighted. The idea is to work on assertiveness to be able to say no to alcohol naturally, like when you don't smoke and someone offers you a cigarette, like a vegan or vegetarian would do if they were offered meat,” explains Ruiz. It is not always easy, because sometimes good will is insistent. For this reason, Ruiz reminds those people who consume alcohol to never pressure them. “You never know the reasons someone has for not drinking, so if they say no, above all, don't insist.”
The pressure, however, exists, as do the strange looks. “I really like gastronomy and sometimes I go to good restaurants. The waiters don't say anything, but they look at me strangely when I ask for sparkling water,” Miquel explains, for his part, that he doesn't drink simply because he doesn't like it. Juan Luis, chef, who stopped drinking out of solidarity four years ago when his wife became pregnant, points out that “the social pressure from my immediate environment is practically zero, but that from the professional environment is stronger. Normally, I explain it politely and it's over. And the times when it has not been finished I have stopped it cold without giving anyone the option to give their opinion on a personal choice.”
Finally, another inconvenience that teetotalers face is having to pay for the alcohol of others at group meals. “In this society everything is built around food and drink, so when you go out to dinner in a group, half the bill is alcohol. If I add up all the alcohol I have paid for in my life, I would have enough to buy myself quite a few things,” explains Patricia.
