Althouse: The British version of questions to ask to determine if you have a drinking problem.

July 8, 2014

The British version of questions to ask to determine if you have a drinking problem.

"'How often do you have six or more drinks on one occasion?' and 'as a result of your drinking or drug use, did anything happen in the last year that you wish didn’t happen?' are the two enquiries a GP could make to detect hidden alcohol abuse...."

6 or more! Stop at 5 and you can fly right under that GP radar. That and a no-regrets attitude and your secret is safe.

23 comments:

pdug said...: Think of the money savings only asking 2 questions will be.

better take the pill, than the surgery.; 7/8/14, 8:17 AM
PB said...: what do they ask the Irish?; 7/8/14, 8:19 AM
SomeoneHasToSayIt said...: I like how a comedian ( I forget who, sorry) has a routine about himself as he drinks. He refers to himself as "1 drink Mike', "2 drink Mike", "3 drink Mike", etc, and describes the personality of each.

Very funny and illustrates a real truth.

So what is "3 drink Ann" like, versus "4 drink Ann"?

"3 drink John" is about as far as I like to go, though at least the later "John's" just get silly and stupid, rather than, as in some, mean.; 7/8/14, 8:27 AM
Wince said...: How about three tall beers and a bottle of Boone's Farm?

A favorite growing up. Blech!; 7/8/14, 8:43 AM
Mark said...: This post explains the British love of Futbol.; 7/8/14, 8:47 AM
SomeoneHasToSayIt said...: Found it: 'Two Drink Mike' -- Birbiglia; 7/8/14, 8:49 AM
dbp said...: Six is a lot for me, even if "occasion' is defined pretty broadly. At an all-day bbq or the super bowl, I might get to 4 or 5. On the other hand, I am smaller than the average man and my 4 might be like 6 for a 200 lb guy. Women are generally even smaller than I am, so maybe their diagnostic level should be lower, like 3 or 4.; 7/8/14, 9:23 AM
Ambrose said...: And by 6 drinks, they mean 6 proper imperial pints.; 7/8/14, 9:33 AM
Big Mike said...: Better yet, have three doubles (or four!); 7/8/14, 9:57 AM
tim maguire said...: Stop at 5? From what I understand of Brits, they might have 6 before breakfast. From what I understand of drunks, asking for a number consumed is just a proxy for the real question, "can you voluntarily stop?"

Suggesting that a person with a drinking problem stop at 5 is not so different from suggesting he fly home on his unicorn if he's too drunk to drive.; 7/8/14, 9:57 AM
SJ said...: The question is, can the drinker remember the number of drinks accurately after number four?; 7/8/14, 10:00 AM
The Drill SGT said...: Good news is that most Brits walk home from the Pub.

Alcohol acceptance and alcohol tolerance seen very cultural. Drunk Driving his handled strictly in Germany, but it was accepted that German blue collar workers would sip from liter beer bottles on their mid morning breaks.

When I lived in Germany 40 years ago, your beer was delivered to your door in cases of glass liter bottles like milk was in the US in the 50's.; 7/8/14, 10:08 AM
Michael said...: There is another version of this test, one I failed before I quit drinking altogether.

Set a number of drinks you can have each day. Make it one or make it ten or make it twenty but make it a number that you think you can comfortably stay under.But you have to be able to stay under that regardless of the "occasion." Superbowl? 10. Divorce papers? 10. Death in the family? 10. Promotion? 10. Dog run over? 10.

If something occurs in your life that causes you to go over that limit it will do so if you have a drinking problem.; 7/8/14, 10:18 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "So what is "3 drink Ann" like, versus "4 drink Ann"?"

There is only 1 drink Ann and 2 drink Ann.

1 drink Ann is pretty much the same as no drink Ann.

2 drink Ann is falling asleep or asleep.

I have 1 drink almost every day, but only rarely have 2 drinks.; 7/8/14, 10:22 AM
readering said...: According to the study linked in the article, standard drink size varies by country. Five drinks in the UK is equivalent to a little less than 3 drinks in the US.; 7/8/14, 10:30 AM
kjbe said...: "Stop at 5 and you can fly right under that GP radar. That and a no-regrets attitude and your secret is safe."

Lies drunks tell themselves.; 7/8/14, 10:42 AM
TosaGuy said...: Always have the large beer or a double for a mixed drink -- keeps the overall drink count down.; 7/8/14, 12:36 PM
Anonymous said...: dbp: Women are generally even smaller than I am, so maybe their diagnostic level should be lower, like 3 or 4.

It's not just size; women's livers and stomachs produce a lot less ADH (alcohol dehydrogenase), and some other pertinent enzymes that I don't remember right now. So when we're having a particularly tasty bottle of wine and my husband wants more than his share, he claims "ADH privilege". "For your own good, dear". I generally tell him to check his privilege.; 7/8/14, 12:59 PM
Smilin' Jack said...: "'How often do you have six or more drinks on one occasion?'

Seems like a reasonable standard--remember, each half of a football game is a separate occasion.; 7/8/14, 1:00 PM
Lucien said...: As Dorothy Parker said (from memory):
"The martini is an excellent drink, but I'll take two at the most. After three, I'm under the table. After four, I'm under the host."; 7/8/14, 1:01 PM
Peter said...: 'How often do you have six or more drinks on one occasion?'

Why I never have more than one. It's just that it happens to consist of a 45-ounce bottle ...

In any case, if you're prospecting for people to treat then the only possible scoring must be, "If you think you have a drinking problem then you do. And if you don't think so, you're in denial."; 7/8/14, 1:41 PM
Unknown said...: The typical drunk wakes up feeling like crap, wishes they hadn't drunk so much, and makes it through the day functioning at 60-80 percent of their clean & sober ability. They do this pretty much every day.

But for the typical drunk, the part of the day when they're drinking is the only part they really like. Having another drink always seems like a good idea.

This is why it's so hard to stop drinking once you're too far in. If it was easy to quit, everyone would.; 7/8/14, 5:19 PM
southcentralpa said...: In Australia, they have a thing every winter to try and discourage winter blahs binge drinking called "Dry July". They used to have an unintentionally hilarious quiz to help one decide if stopping drinking suddenly would be dangerous (i.e., if one is an alcoholic).

Alas, I looked it up and this year they only say "We advise heavy drinkers or people dependent on alcohol to speak with their GP first before signing up to Dry July."

Killjoys...; 7/8/14, 7:46 PM