Drinking alcohol plays an important social role in many cultures. Most countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption; some countries ban such activities entirely.
Alcohol is one of the most widely used recreational drugs in the world. Alcoholic drinks are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and spirits—and typically contain between 3% and 40% alcohol by volume.
Alastair Campbell’s Panorama documentary on Britain’s Hidden Alcoholics was a refreshing attempt to draw attention to the complexity of our alcohol problem. The programme revealed the full range of alcohol consumption patterns, from ritualistic social drinking in working class pubs to professionals quaffing wine like it was water, often alone at home. Campbell also shared the story of his own battles with drink, and made passing references to some of the policies that influence the supply of alcohol.
But what about demand? Throughout the documentary, not once was there any penetrating attempt to make sense of exactly why people drink. It’s not just about unwinding after work, socialising, or having a good time. To quote the man himself, these explanations are bog-standard.
With a national audience looking for insight, this was a missed opportunity to deepen the discussion. Campbell could have called upon at least four useful perspectives that we should be more widely aware of.
First, neuroscience tells us that we drink to reduce associations in our mind. Ethanol, the psychoactive ingredient of alcohol, impairs communication between neurons by weakening the molecules in the walls that separate them, such that electrical signals are not sent as normal and associations between ideas do not emerge as readily. That might sound like a bad thing, but such associations are the basis for our continuous and strenuous efforts to make sense of the world, a burden we could do without. Alcohol typically elevates mood because with fewer associations to bother us, we start living less in our heads, and more in the here and now.