Do the costs of drinking alcohol outweigh the benefits of drinking alcohol?

Answer 1

At modest levels of consumption, this is a matter of personal opinion. I personally don't like the taste of alcohol (about three sips in and I have a bad cottonmouth, plus alcohol is very astringent to me), so the costs of drinking even a bit of alcohol isn't worth it. However, other people like my grandmother enjoy a glass of wine before bed - it doesn't hurt her and brings her pleasure, so the benefits outweigh the risk of drinking a single glass of wine a night.

At high levels of consumption, defined as more than 3 drinks per day, the risks start to outweigh the benefits pretty quick. High levels of alcohol consumption can cause addiction, dependency, liver damage, weight gain, social and familial dysfunction and depression. There are no known medical benefits of consuming this much alcohol either. There may be some social benefit, particularly among young drinkers in the United States, but this tends to disappear by the time you are 30 and there is a small social stigma against those who consume alcohol to excess. Overall, the risks of high volume alcohol consumption outweigh the benefits (what benefits there are).