Obviously the CEO of a beer company has an interest here, but this analysis of declining alcohol sales rings true to me. There’s been this running narrative about more health conscious consumer patterns leading people away from booze but I have long suspected it was about an addictive replacement, not greater discipline. Reasonable people didn’t need the latest science on the cancer risk alcohol poses to realize drinking a lot isn’t good for you. Staring at a screen is a lot better for your liver but i have a bad feeling about what this trend implies about human socialization and the broader impacts on our society.

Reporter and writer. I cover energy, climate change and geopolitics. Contact me via my website www.alexanderckaufman.com and subscribe to kaufman.substack.com.

I am fully aware alcohol is bad for physical health, but it’s possible to use alcohol in an almost medicinal way (e.g. loosening yourself up just enough to be more sociable with only slight cognitive impairment and exercising all necessary travel caution)

Have you heard of the studies suggesting that light alcohol consumption correlates with better health and longevity because occasional alcohol is correlated with social interaction?

Web2/Web3 developer and builder of grassroots decentralized culture and governance. Not a maximalist of any kind. Writing this as I go.

I know that the studies looking at things like wine and physical health suggest that the 'healthy' amount is much lower than people think. 
I wasn't aware of studies looking at the social side, I'll take a look