Of course smell is a really powerful at triggering childhood memories. But talking about the smell of alcohol bringing back childhood memories, is a really really strange way to argue for the benefits of booze.
Next up on the New York Times Podcast, we'll have a lifelong smoker tell of their love of smoking and the value and meaning smoking brings to their life while denouncing the surgeon general's call to add a cancer warning label on the box.
Historically, smoking was seen in much of the same light, pleasurable, shared, and profitable. Alcohol is not anywhere near as bad, but a warning would help.
What a crock. Anyone could make a similar case for their love of fine whiskey, or ‘craft’ beer. They all contain alcohol, and all have likely caused serious health issues to millions of people over the ages. While a warning label won’t solve the problem, it may bring some awareness to some of the risks, and maybe even save a few lives. It certainly won’t prevent you, or anyone else from enjoying your favourite beverage. And yes, I do drink wine.
OMG I know! Thanks for commenting, this “opinion” is so ridiculous! “I like the smell and “tradition” of liquid poison and it was so cool going to a liquid poison store in Instabul, so make sure to ignore the surgeon general’s and researchers warning!!!”
Someone doesn’t need to have an alcohol dependency to have too much to drink one evening and make bad decisions. Imagine a world without alcohol. Would the net negatives really outweigh the net positives? Everyone should have the right to drink, but everyone should do so with proper foreknowledge of the potential risks.
I'm not entirely sure what the author is advocating. If alcohol is harmful at any level of consumption and its risks increase with higher intake (a 'dose-response' relationship), then it seems logical that alcohol products should carry warning labels, much like tobacco. This doesn't negate the social benefits that alcohol can sometimes offer, nor does it dismiss its role as a source of happiness and nuanced enjoyment-again, much like tobacco. Is he worried about Prohibition II or drinkers being socially stigmatized, like sad packs of smokers huddled in the parking lot during a work break?
I appreciate this essay but am not greatly moved by his argument. Just my opinion! 🤷 I am so thrilled to see the comments section wasn't overly enthralled with his argument either.
This is a very poorly thought out piece. Doesn’t engage with the science at all, just pushes the author’s personal feelings about alcohol as if that somehow outweighs the possibility of getting cancer. Adds nothing to the conversation. Replace “wine” with “cigars” and literally nothing changes.
That’s what an opinion piece is… he’s saying the science doesn’t sway his emotional connection to wine. He’s also saying it’s a lazy attempt at governing something. Are people going to eventually advocate that we stay indoors and put warning labels on billboards that the sun also causes cancer? I don’t see warning labels highlighting social media’s harmful effects.
Not having access to affordable healthcare is likely, probably, definitely more dangerous to American’s wellbeing than wine. They aren’t eager to change that though
Actually, I imagine many if not most Democrats would love to expand healthcare to a universal system, but it is not politically feasible, yet, and now that Trump and cronies are in power, they will try to ruin what little there is of the ACA...
I don't know why, as a person who's never drunk alcohol in my life, I find these videos so curious. But I do. A small part is probably just the curiosity of watching tides change, where once what I didn't do was seen by the larger culture as weird. A bigger part is peering into a cultural experience I don't have. There's so much attributed to alcohol that I have through far healthier means that is assumed can only be had with it. I have flashbacks to my ancestors, moments of feeling them near me in memory and experience. No alcohol. I have a social life and deep meaning in my life. No alcohol. I have access to creativity, love, life, and cultural experiences. No alcohol. I get that it must be hard to watch a cultural tradition fade in significance as people move away from it. But that isn't a good argument for keeping it or finding ways to transition traditions and meaning to something healthier or even more deeply rooted. It may seem to be impossible for someone who loves a good glass of wine. For me, it's always been there, highly accessible, and without the social/health risks we're burdened with to afford someone's desires whether or not we drink.
ua-cam.com/video/2DhwOd_pBD8/v-deo.htmlsi=kBMdVRHRwDAKDHu-&t=166 "if someone has an alcohol dependency then..." misses the real-life implication that there is only one way to find out and it's harmful physically and mentally; and maybe having a society that normalizes something that at an average level is bad for us is not great
I’m one of those people who stopped drinking for reasons not related to addiction. When I heard this I felt a great need to buy local wine to give as presents. Hopefully others like me will participate.
I'm glad the author is so enlightened about his alcohol consumption, but this hoity toity bit that wine is all about this amazing experience where you have a single glass of the finest just isn't what most people experience. Come back and do another piece once you've had a parent, spouse, or close friend struggle with alcoholism.
At 78 I'm waiting for a colonoscopy to determine whether I have colon cancer as I have a "hernia" diagnosis that may turn out to be more than that. My neighbor (female) admonished that even one drink a day can increase a woman's chances of cancer -- SO: I thought back to my 50 years of living in Manhattan from 1966 to 2016 and the fabulous people I spent time with and the places we went and that alcohol was a part of all these great experiences -- and regardless of the results of my upcoming test I wouldn't change a thing! When it came to great tasting wines and cocktails: I ENJOYED THEM AND I'M GLAD! AND Prohibition was a miserable failure as a social experiment.
Replace every word like “alcohol, grape, drink” with “cigarette, tobacco, pack” you get the same silly arguments from tobacco CEOs - “I advocate for, work for, and contribute to something that gives a tremendous amount of meaning to my life, but I almost never have more than a pack, maybe two, a day…”
uh, it’s about the enjoyment of the pairing of good wine with good food. i would still be smoking if that wasn’t so nasty smelling afterwards on me. nothing better than a good meal with good friends over good food, followed by discussions late into the night over good coffee smoking turkish cigarettes.
What a self-centered take😭 “I don’t want warning labels on a toxic product because I love it” is the whole argument. Wish I could get these 8 minutes back
Wait, so, if I can't afford to travel to Istanbul, and visit a quint little bar, I can't enjoy a glass of wine with my meal? It is about the wine, dude. And yes, it can be about all that other stuff too. And there's nothing wrong with that. I will continue to enjoy my favorite wine. I think the surgeon general is ridiculous. What, prohibition again?
Demand for some things will naturally decreasd as tastes change and science evolves. Is it the consumer's duty to continue to spend money on dangerous or deleterious products for the sake of buoying up the manufacturer's bottom line or is it the duty of the manufacturer to shift directions and find a more beneficial product to sell?
Sooo the Surgeon General is worried about burbon, but not cancer causing pesticides and food dyes.......... Just a thought, but perhaps it's the way we're producing alcohol in the modern age rather than alcohol itself because humans have been drinking literally since the dawn of time and cancer used to be much more rare.
Of course smell is a really powerful at triggering childhood memories. But talking about the smell of alcohol bringing back childhood memories, is a really really strange way to argue for the benefits of booze.
I completely agree!!
Next up on the New York Times Podcast, we'll have a lifelong smoker tell of their love of smoking and the value and meaning smoking brings to their life while denouncing the surgeon general's call to add a cancer warning label on the box.
I came to the comments prepared to write that exact thing 😂
I'm sure Fran Lebowitz would come on the show
Historically, smoking was seen in much of the same light, pleasurable, shared, and profitable. Alcohol is not anywhere near as bad, but a warning would help.
Yeah this essay was so non-sensical and meaningless. I love wine but it’s good to know that it’s not amazing for me. So if I drink less…good.
I'm worried my grandchildren won't smoke because of all the warnings on them. 😢
What a crock. Anyone could make a similar case for their love of fine whiskey, or ‘craft’ beer. They all contain alcohol, and all have likely caused serious health issues to millions of people over the ages. While a warning label won’t solve the problem, it may bring some awareness to some of the risks, and maybe even save a few lives. It certainly won’t prevent you, or anyone else from enjoying your favourite beverage. And yes, I do drink wine.
OMG I know! Thanks for commenting, this “opinion” is so ridiculous! “I like the smell and “tradition” of liquid poison and it was so cool going to a liquid poison store in Instabul, so make sure to ignore the surgeon general’s and researchers warning!!!”
The same thing can be argued for cigarettes. This is nonsense.
Someone doesn’t need to have an alcohol dependency to have too much to drink one evening and make bad decisions. Imagine a world without alcohol. Would the net negatives really outweigh the net positives?
Everyone should have the right to drink, but everyone should do so with proper foreknowledge of the potential risks.
I'm not entirely sure what the author is advocating. If alcohol is harmful at any level of consumption and its risks increase with higher intake (a 'dose-response' relationship), then it seems logical that alcohol products should carry warning labels, much like tobacco. This doesn't negate the social benefits that alcohol can sometimes offer, nor does it dismiss its role as a source of happiness and nuanced enjoyment-again, much like tobacco. Is he worried about Prohibition II or drinkers being socially stigmatized, like sad packs of smokers huddled in the parking lot during a work break?
I appreciate this essay but am not greatly moved by his argument. Just my opinion! 🤷
I am so thrilled to see the comments section wasn't overly enthralled with his argument either.
This is a very poorly thought out piece. Doesn’t engage with the science at all, just pushes the author’s personal feelings about alcohol as if that somehow outweighs the possibility of getting cancer. Adds nothing to the conversation. Replace “wine” with “cigars” and literally nothing changes.
That’s what an opinion piece is… he’s saying the science doesn’t sway his emotional connection to wine. He’s also saying it’s a lazy attempt at governing something. Are people going to eventually advocate that we stay indoors and put warning labels on billboards that the sun also causes cancer? I don’t see warning labels highlighting social media’s harmful effects.
Well 😂😂 this is a self-serving as it gets.
Not having access to affordable healthcare is likely, probably, definitely more dangerous to American’s wellbeing than wine. They aren’t eager to change that though
Actually, I imagine many if not most Democrats would love to expand healthcare to a universal system, but it is not politically feasible, yet, and now that Trump and cronies are in power, they will try to ruin what little there is of the ACA...
I don't know why, as a person who's never drunk alcohol in my life, I find these videos so curious. But I do. A small part is probably just the curiosity of watching tides change, where once what I didn't do was seen by the larger culture as weird. A bigger part is peering into a cultural experience I don't have. There's so much attributed to alcohol that I have through far healthier means that is assumed can only be had with it. I have flashbacks to my ancestors, moments of feeling them near me in memory and experience. No alcohol. I have a social life and deep meaning in my life. No alcohol. I have access to creativity, love, life, and cultural experiences. No alcohol. I get that it must be hard to watch a cultural tradition fade in significance as people move away from it. But that isn't a good argument for keeping it or finding ways to transition traditions and meaning to something healthier or even more deeply rooted. It may seem to be impossible for someone who loves a good glass of wine. For me, it's always been there, highly accessible, and without the social/health risks we're burdened with to afford someone's desires whether or not we drink.
@@bluedreams517 Beautiful and insightful response, thank you for sharing.
ua-cam.com/video/2DhwOd_pBD8/v-deo.htmlsi=kBMdVRHRwDAKDHu-&t=166 "if someone has an alcohol dependency then..." misses the real-life implication that there is only one way to find out and it's harmful physically and mentally; and maybe having a society that normalizes something that at an average level is bad for us is not great
I’m one of those people who stopped drinking for reasons not related to addiction. When I heard this I felt a great need to buy local wine to give as presents. Hopefully others like me will participate.
I'm glad the author is so enlightened about his alcohol consumption, but this hoity toity bit that wine is all about this amazing experience where you have a single glass of the finest just isn't what most people experience. Come back and do another piece once you've had a parent, spouse, or close friend struggle with alcoholism.
At 78 I'm waiting for a colonoscopy to determine whether I have colon cancer as I have a "hernia" diagnosis that may turn out to be more than that. My neighbor (female) admonished that even one drink a day can increase a woman's chances of cancer -- SO:
I thought back to my 50 years of living in Manhattan from 1966 to 2016 and the fabulous people I spent time with and the places we went and that alcohol was a part of all these great experiences -- and regardless of the results of my upcoming test I wouldn't change a thing!
When it came to great tasting wines and cocktails: I ENJOYED THEM AND I'M GLAD!
AND Prohibition was a miserable failure as a social experiment.
Big Tobacco be like:
Replace every word like “alcohol, grape, drink” with “cigarette, tobacco, pack” you get the same silly arguments from tobacco CEOs - “I advocate for, work for, and contribute to something that gives a tremendous amount of meaning to my life, but I almost never have more than a pack, maybe two, a day…”
How is your magical transcendental experience bigfooted by a health warning? This is breathtaking in it’s self-centered myopia.
uh, it’s about the enjoyment of the pairing of good wine with good food. i would still be smoking if that wasn’t so nasty smelling afterwards on me.
nothing better than a good meal with good friends over good food, followed by discussions late into the night over good coffee smoking turkish cigarettes.
Now it's more about pairing good food with good company. Next it will be with arriving in a good car.
What a self-centered take😭 “I don’t want warning labels on a toxic product because I love it” is the whole argument. Wish I could get these 8 minutes back
Wait, so, if I can't afford to travel to Istanbul, and visit a quint little bar, I can't enjoy a glass of wine with my meal? It is about the wine, dude. And yes, it can be about all that other stuff too. And there's nothing wrong with that. I will continue to enjoy my favorite wine. I think the surgeon general is ridiculous. What, prohibition again?
They're not talking about prohibition, just informing the public about the risks.
Demand for some things will naturally decreasd as tastes change and science evolves. Is it the consumer's duty to continue to spend money on dangerous or deleterious products for the sake of buoying up the manufacturer's bottom line or is it the duty of the manufacturer to shift directions and find a more beneficial product to sell?
This just in!!!! Vices are bad for you!
In my view,cancer sucks¡¡
Don't 😮
Amen
Sooo the Surgeon General is worried about burbon, but not cancer causing pesticides and food dyes..........
Just a thought, but perhaps it's the way we're producing alcohol in the modern age rather than alcohol itself because humans have been drinking literally since the dawn of time and cancer used to be much more rare.