we are led to believe that alcohol is the "elixir of life"

I remember my first drink - I stole a stubby bottle of Iron City beer from my visiting aunt's stash in our fridge.  I called up a friend of mine that I smoked cigarettes with and we took the bottle into the woods and split it - it tasted foul.  I was in the 5th grade. I didn't understand the allure of beer, it tasted terrible.

I remember the first time I felt the effects of drinking alcohol - I was in 8th grade and I split a bottle of Boones Farm Apple Hill wine with 2 class mates, it tasted funny, like nasty juice but at that point "peer" pressure had already started to sink in, we passed the bottle back and for an took swigs, I was in the middle.  I felt my first buzz, the effects of the alcohol on my young brain. That started my drinking career. That summer I drank an entire bottle of cheap wine and puked my guts out, passed out and woke up the next morning not remembering anything and feeling very ill.  Drinking was supposed to be fun?  I had my first major hangover.

I was told I just needed to learn how to drink - that's all I needed to hear.

As youngsters we learn to observe - we see adults drinking beer, wine, liquor and they go from being reserved to laughing, loud and having a good time.  It looks like they are having a "good" time.  We walk by the neighborhood bars in the summer, the door is open and it is crowded with music and laughter. What's the attraction, we wonder. 

Alcohol is all around us, it is the most heavily marketed product in the world.  It used to be cigarettes, but society has put the stigma on that addiction and banned TV ads.  More money is spent on alcohol advertisement than any other product.  Dilly-dilly.

What are they selling?  well they are not selling the highly toxic, highly addictive and terrible tasting fuel ingredient ethanol.  No they are selling - fun, happiness, friendship, romance, man hood, relaxation, reward, status, courage and a good time.  They are selling the product's, product's, product.

Taste's great - Less filling!  Let me clue you in - observe the average Miller Lite drinker - they are usually overweight, out of shape middle aged men, or fat women.  Sort of like the diet soft drink people - they believe in the "calorie" theory.  Let me clue you in - reduce the alcohol by volume (ABV) percentage from 5% to 4.2% and the caloric factor in the same 12oz bottle drops, but it still tastes like old dishwater.  Miller Brewing hit on a genius product and marketed the hell out of it during the mid 70's eat less calories exercise more weight loss era, this produced generations of Lite drinkers.  I know one fan of Lite that can drink 18 Lite's in a day, but he can't run 25 yards.

Alcohol is marketed as the "elixir of life" - everything will be better with a little alcohol, the day, the event, the occasion. Hell when you're feeling bad - alcohol, when you're celebrating - alcohol, when you're bored - alcohol.

It's a trap - and it doesn't change.  We are unconsciously brainwashed that alcohol is a drink that will make us happy and will enhance any occasion.  Consciously we may have experienced some of the side effects of over indulgence in an "adult beverage'' but unconsciously we only remember the good times allure or the good times we had when drinking alcohol.  That is what I call selective memory and unconscious brainwashing.

Thus we continue drinking the "elixir of life" chasing the good times.  This elixir is highly addictive, it's the nature of the nasty tasting chemical ethanol.  As we "acquire a taste" for it our bodies miraculously build up a tolerance to the drug protecting us from the lethal effects.  The fan of Miller Lite that can drink 18 cans of beer, built up to that volume over time.  Now that is the standard for him, anything less he doesn't feel "right" anything more and he starts acting "strange", the I only smoke when I drink syndrome.

I remember when I was completely satisfied drinking 3 beers when I was in high school, if I drank more than that I either got sick or started speaking a weird version of Korean or acting strange.  By the end of high school I graduated to a 6 pack, and on rare occasion I would go big and drink Colt 45 Malt liquor, which had a higher ABV than Stroh's.  I usually got drunk or could not finish the 6 pack, but I had a good time, until I did something stupid or puked.

In the beginning we relate alcohol to pleasure, fun, having a good time.  It's also a social status - in my town drinking was a way of life.  It was considered a reward for working hard all day. 

I know a drinker that flat out states "drinking is my reward" for busting my ass all day at my job.  His job consists of driving around and visiting jobsites and working on a computer.  In my work career drinking was a staple at every networking event, the pre dinner cocktail hour, the lunch time drinks, the out of town trade shows that became nothing more than a reason to drink.

Drinking was the "elixir of life".  It made the cowards have courage, the homely into beautiful people and the shy person into a comedian.

Ah the good old days - normal drinking.  Drinking to be happy.

You are not one of them - you are a normal drinker enjoying the "elixir of life."

e·lix·ir

[əˈliksər]

NOUN

elixirs (plural noun)

1. a magical or medicinal potion.

   "an elixir guaranteed to induce love"

   synonyms:

   potion · concoction · brew · philter · decoction · medicine · tincture ·
   

   tonic · draft · potation

   • a preparation supposedly able to change metals into gold, sought by alchemists.
   • a preparation supposedly able to prolong life indefinitely.
     "at one point during the festivities, the river is said to turn into the elixir of life"
2. a particular type of medicinal solution.

   "a cough elixir"

   synonyms:

   mixture · solution · potion · tincture · extract · essence · concentrate