Social Blight

[stockdoct]

In my hospital, I take care of many, many alcoholics, when they don't take care of themselves. They come in sometimes violent, occasionally sedate, often picked up on the streets comatose with bruises on their faces from a recent brawl. Serum alcohol levels are often above .35 ; I see levels above .40 virtually every week. Often alcohol intoxication leads to feelings of self-scorn and depression and they've also taken Tylenol, Valium, narcotics or slit their wrists in hopes of dying (while they're drunk) only to walk out of the hospital in a day or two to buy another bottle.

Although I haven't conducted a formal study, I do ask these sad people what they drink and I find the results interesting.

75% drink Vodka daily, often a 750cc bottle a day, often supplemented with beer. Suicide attempts via drinking alcohol are Vodka exclusively.
15% drink large volumes of beer, 24 per day is not uncommon.
5-10% drink whiskey, or the occasional older lady will come in drunk with jug wine

I cannot remember in 15 years having an alcoholic tell me he gets toasted or tries to commit suicide with rum.

Any thoughts?

Mike

[Rum Runner]

Very sobering anecdotal observations Mike.

I think you may be observing those poor souls who are finding the best "dime to buzz" ratio in your area to fit along with their other "adjuncts".

At the very least, I'm impressed with how the members here on the MoR continue to express their enjoyment and consumption of rum with moderation.

[RonJames]

That is a very sobbering thought. On a serious note my wife and I have been working loosely to set parameters so that we don't end along those lines. What makes an alcoholic is how it effects them, and I think you hit it on the head stockdoc when you said how they present. I have family members that have alcohol problems and they can go months without ever taking a sip, but when they do they can cross the line very quickly and their whole persona changes, always for the worse. Keep up the hard work stockdoc, it'll never say it but society appreciates it.

[Edward Hamilton]

Alcohol abuse isn't uncommon in the islands, where rum is cheaper than most mixers. On the other hand, conservative volumes of alcohol can be beneficial. Moderation seems to be the key to any pursuit whether it is alcohol consumption or working at a job.

[Arctic Wolf]

I am fairly positive that rum is not any more immune to the 'social blight' than any other spirit, or drug for that matter. The correlation would be more in line with availability and price than to any particular spirit, or other so called 'pick me up'. Whether they be alcoholics, crackheads, methheads or whatever, if the drug or spirit of choice is available, it will be abused. The cycle spirals downward as addiction leads to monetary loss, which leads to low self worth, which induces the need for more of that 'pick me up'. I don't have any answers but I certainly would not put rum on any pedestal or try to rationalize that it is somehow better than other spirits.

I do wholeheartedly agree with Ed that moderation is the key. Study after study indicates that one to two ounces of spirits three or four times a week is beneficial. More is not, with the 'not' sliding into oblivion more rapidly than is readily apparent.

When I first began collecting spirits the proprietor of CSN Liquor in Calgary gave me sound advise, "Drink better spirits, not more spirits." If only that were easy for everyone.

Mike (Stockdoct), you work the front lines in what must be a most depressing battle. I sense a certain amount of frustration in your post, and I want you to know that there are many people who appreciate your work and your worth. (My wife is a nurse on a kidney dialysis ward and I hear the same frustration and pathos from her after a particularly bad nightshift.)

[stockdoct]

No, I'm really not frustrated about the situation of alcoholism. More "curious", really. Above and beyond the enormous topic of why alcoholics drink as they see their lives deteriorate ...... I'm interested in their choice of booze.

With my observations of 15-20 years "on the front lines" that I stated in my original note, you might make any number of logical (but not necessarily accurate) conclusions about hard-core alcoholics and their drink of choice

1) Drinking vodka induces a person to become a hardcore alcoholic with massively increased frequency compared to drinking rum ........or

2) If you drink rum, tequila, wine, schnapps, or brandy exclusively, your chance of being someday admitted to a hospital as a hard-core alcoholic is virtually nil .......... or

3) Vodka has a unique pleasurable effect on hard-core alcoholics not found in other spirits ....... or

any one of a hundred other possible "logical" conclusions which may be crazy or may have a ring of truth. My own suspicion is brought out by Arctic Wolf's liquor store proprietor, that people who tend to choose beverages for their flavor tend not to become hard-core alcoholics, and those who choose their beverage-of-choice based on a LACK of flavor (a neutral spirit ) may be more predisposed to fall down the path of social blight.

Of course, whenever making conclusions from limited data, I always remember the story of the notations in little Billy's biology class notebook when he made conclusions from yelling "JUMP" to a frog following surgical procedures:

"4 legged frog jumps 4 feet" (he then cuts off one frog's leg)
"3 legged from jumps 3 feet" (cuts off another leg)
"2 legged from jumps 2 feet" (cuts off another leg)
"1 legged frog jumps 1 foot (he cuts off final remaining leg)
"JUMP!!" he yells, and again
"JUMP!!"
then records in his notebook .....

"No-legged frog is deaf"

[stockdoct]

As an aside, there are a dozen places to buy booze in our town, and at each one of them you can get a lowest-shelf bottle of vodka, rum, tequila, or schnapps for roughly the same price of $3. "Availability" or "price" as an answer to the vodka question (in my locale, anyway) doesn't seem to have validity

[RonJames]

any one of a hundred other possible "logical" conclusions which may be crazy or may have a ring of truth. My own suspicion is brought out by Arctic Wolf's liquor store proprietor, that people who tend to choose beverages for their flavor tend not to become hard-core alcoholics, and those who choose their beverage-of-choice based on a LACK of flavor (a neutral spirit ) may be more predisposed to fall down the path of social blight.


ahhh, now I see what you mean. Very interesting info that I had never thought about.

[bobt]

I joke with my friends that the spirits I drink are far too expensive for me to overindulge, but it's true. I have very few bottles in my cabinet (aside from rum) that cost less than eighty dollars. And the simple truth is, I drink for the flavor and the experience of the rituals associated with each beverage, for example, the absinthe ritual.

Both of my parents died because of alcohol abuse, and their choice was rotgut rye or scotch.

[Seminole]

Another thing with Vodka being the #1 drink of choice for the working/functioning alcohol is it's lack of smell. They can drink it throughout the day with little to no smell of booze on their breath or coming from their pores. I will say, I do know one guy with a pretty serious drinking problem that won't drink anything but Bacardi. But, in my opinion, it is pretty tasteless, cheap, and I don't personally consider it a good rum.

[Gecko]

Seminole,

I would add to your comment by stating that Vodka is the #1 consumer spirits out there. At days end, we all must watch how much we consume. I learnt a long time ago that I can handle large amounts of liquor. This fact has always kept me in check as I became afraid (back in college) of how much I could put down, when others were totally S faced X2.

But hey one last comment, Bacardi does make a few good products. 8 year old is my standard pour.

[Gecko]

RonJames,

On a side bar and very much tongue and cheek... are you still supplying the homeless with a good sip Llaughing.gifL

you rock.gif

[RonJames]

RonJames,

On a side bar and very much tongue and cheek... are you still supplying the homeless with a good sip Llaughing.gifL

you rock.gif

You bet, although this topic does make me wonder about if they'd rather a bottle of grey goose. Still, I haven't known anyone to decline one of my bottles.;)

[Gecko]

Big LOL at the Grey Goose comment. Thanks for the laugh. You stillyou rock.gif

[Seminole]

But hey one last comment, Bacardi does make a few good products. 8 year old is my standard pour.

Gecko, Let me correct myself. When I say Bacardi isn't good in my opinion, I was referring to the Bacardi Superior and lower end rums. The 8, Anejo, Solera, Reserva Limitada, etc. can hold there own. I just think it is funny that in most bars across the country/world that I have been in use Bacardi Superior as their top shelf rum. There are so many much better rums out there for the same price and cheaper.

[Gecko]

I agree with you all the way. This is perhaps why rum has a bad name in the US. Too many folks have had lower end rums with Coca Cola and the next morning the results were not good.

The bad hangover is cuased by bad rum. I can honestly say that once I switched to sipping rum, the headaches went away. Give me rum...

I've just spoken to one of my mules, I have a bottle of Santa Teresa 1796 Antiguo de Solera and Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva coming in from Venezuelaparty2.gif

[Joe Riley]

Another thing with Vodka being the #1 drink of choice for the working/functioning alcohol is it's lack of smell. They can drink it throughout the day with little to no smell of booze on their breath or coming from their pores.
Bingo. That is one of the top reasons why vodka is the alcoholic's booze of choice, no tell-tale smell and it's so easy to conceal in fruit juice, water bottles, etc...

Also, let's face it, most volume vodka is seriously cheap. Until recently, I had a college kid who came in EVERY DAY to buy a 1.75L of Popov, at $13 each.

I find that some of our more well-heeled alcoholics buy pricier vodka, presumably on the theory that, if they were an alcoholic, the cheap brands would suffice, therefore they must not be alcoholics.

So sad.

I would imagine that, in many Caribbean islands where there are some dedicated rum bars where it's seriously cheap, rum is without a doubt the anesthetic of choice for alcoholics.