Search for a Better Way to Drink : Coping With Demands of Holiday Season Consumption

The person who opts for a tonic and lime at a party this holiday season, we are told, is less likely to be considered a stick-in-the-mud than in previous years. No guarantees, though.

Yes, more restaurants and private affairs push a non-alcoholic alternative to the usual. But when was the last time someone talked you out of an alcoholic drink?

What of the designated-driver concept--that most reasonable of ideas where one party-goer sits sober with his car keys in a glass nursing a ginger ale while the rest of the gang cuts loose? Growing awareness of the tragic consequences of driving while intoxicated has gained this method some acceptance. But doing it is another matter. So let’s talk reality instead.

Going With the Flow

The No. 1 fact about alcohol use in the United States, according to recent research, is that about 70% of us touch the stuff regularly. That’s not to say we’re a nation of pie-eyed drinkers who see bottoms up as upright; but given a choice of abstinence and absinthe, most will go with the flow.

“Sensible drinking habits are something we need to encourage in our society,” says Roger Vogler, a clinical psychologist at Pomona College in Claremont, who helps drinkers find a middle ground in their personal relationship with alcohol--somewhere prudently located between “on the wagon” and “under the table.”

Contrary to some traditionalists who take an all-or-nothing approach to alcohol, Vogler contends “safe drinking,” as he calls it, can work for the “vast majority of Americans” whose drinking habits fall short of alcoholism. Safe drinking, he says, is a much-needed shot of realism. And now, amid seasonal celebration, is prime time to give it some thought.

“We know our species well enough to know that three out of four drink,” says Vogler, co-author of “The Better Way to Drink” (New Harbinger), who has studied how to beat alcohol abuse for almost 20 years.

‘An Intelligent Decision’

“This is a matter of dealing with our species realistically. . . . For millions of mild abusers . . . we tell them don’t do it at all, and then of course they do anyway. People need to know the facts so they can make an intelligent decision whether they’re going to use alcohol at all.

“But if you are going to drink, you need some real and practical guidelines that minimize risks and maximize positive results.”

Vogler, who restricts his own drinking to an occasional beer, believes the key to making drinking a controlled and positive experience is to understand individual drinking behavior in terms of blood-alcohol content.

“Alcohol at a level of .05 (percent blood-alcohol measurement) is fairly safe and above that is fairly unsafe,” Vogler says. “How much is .05? About two drinks during the first hour for the average person weighing 120 pounds, or three for someone 150 to 180 pounds. After that, no one should drink more than one drink per hour . . . because the body burns off one drink per hour.”

A drink by any other name? “As I define it,” says Vogler, “a drink is one 12-ounce beer, one 4-ounce glass of 12% table wine, or 1 ounce of 80-proof liquor.

“So if a person who weighs 160 pounds drinks three scotches and does it every night, he is at the upper limit of moderation. But if he drinks much more, if he goes from three to four drinks, he is into the abusive range--especially if he does it every day, because his tolerance to alcohol is likely to increase and he’ll have to drink more to get the same effects. He’s got to do something about it.”

Chad Emrick, a Denver psychologist who since 1978 has focused his practice on alcohol abuse and addictive behaviors, says there is growing evidence that some heavy drinkers who are not alcoholics can control their drinking habits.

Graduate to ‘Serious Abuser’

Citing studies that group drinkers by consumption, Emrick says: “Of heavy social drinkers who consume three to five drinks a day, one out of four becomes a serious abuser” who will graduate to consuming eight or more drinks per occasion. That level of consumption is likely to cause some problems related to alcoholism, and 25% of those abusers go on to become alcoholics.

Yet the finding that encourages the “safe drinking” advocates is that about 50% of those heavy social drinkers never progress to alcoholism, and instead either moderate their drinking or abstain altogether.

Emrick tells of a 40-year-old Denver salesman well on the path to severe abuse. The man traveled a lot and ceremoniously ended every workday at a bar where he’d toss back several martinis. “The drinking behavior resulted in problems,” recalls Emrick. His job was in jeopardy and his marriage was troubled.

“He was using these martinis to relax after a stressful day,” Emrick says. “Instead of going to a bar, he found alternative ways of relaxing--he’d lie in his room, or go for a swim, or take a walk. He started thinking of himself as someone who doesn’t drink martinis.” After more than three years, the man hasn’t had a martini and only drinks beer or wine with evening meals or on weekends at home.

As for his prescription for moderate drinking, Emrick defers to “Dr. Anstie’s Law of Safe Drinking,” an upper limit for moderate consumption set by a British psychiatrist in 1862 at 1 1/2 ounces of absolute alcohol per day.

“That translates to three 1 ounces of 80-proof drinks or three 12-ounce beers or three 4-ounce glasses of 12% wine a day,” Emrick says. “What I like about Dr. Anstie’s Law is that just because it is Christmas or New Year’s doesn’t make it a time to do more drinking.”

Beyond setting limits, safe-drinking experts and educational groups such as the National Council on Alcoholism have devised strategies that can help people gain control of their drinking:

--Know exactly how many drinks a person of your size and body weight can consume in an hour and remain under .05% blood-alcohol measurement. Vogler says his drink-equivalent estimates are adequate, but instruments such as the Alco-Calculator and portable Breathalyzers are reliable and convenient monitors.

--Count your drinks. “We are poor judges of sobriety,” Vogler says. “Most people judge how much they’ve been drinking not by counting but by how they feel.”

--Limit it to “one drink per hour after the first hour,” says Vogler, “and, ideally, substitute something non-alcoholic--mineral water or fruit juice--every other drink.”

--Sip rather than gulp drinks. “People are not paying attention and that’s why they gulp,” says Vogler, who recommends people learn to savor the feeling of the first two drinks. “You’re going to get the best results from drinking when you start sober and drink for an hour or less.” Drinking after that is all downhill.

--Eat when you drink. Blood alcohol rises quickly on an empty stomach and will make you feel intoxicated.

--Don’t drink when stressed. It only exaggerates the effects of alcohol and diverts drinkers from controlling themselves. This makes parties during the holidays, a more stressful time than usual, “tricky business,” Emrick says. “Don’t begin drinking until after you have become relaxed. Wait until you’ve been to a party for 15 minutes or a half-hour.”

--Always serve measured mixed drinks. The generous bartender can be dangerous if people are unwittingly drinking more alcohol than they have planned. “I actually recommend you avoid distilled spirits,” Emrick says. “People who stick with beer or wine do a better job of moderating their drinking.”

--Know your “hot spots,” those situations when you are most likely to drink too much. “After work with colleagues, at home after work, at parties: beware of these times,” Vogler says, “and invoke your limitations and stick to them.”

--Prepare to refuse drinks. “There is a fair amount of social pressure to drink,” says Vogler, who advises, “You should rehearse ahead of time, saying ‘That’s enough, thanks.’ Not to be caught unaware is the key. Be firm about it and people eventually back off.”

--Make drinking incidental, the facilitator, and not the main event.

--”Don’t drink every day,” Emrick says. “It becomes too habitual and builds up tolerance.” Vogler warns that even “people who drink two drinks per day can increase their tolerance in just six days.” There’s a good chance you will become more tolerant of alcohol during a partying season.

--Use foresight. Never mix drinking and driving. If you think you are likely to drink, arrange for transportation. “Our patients sign a contract that they not drive until after eight hours of doing any drinking,” says Emrick. “That’s making a statement.”

--Maintain an expectation that you will not misbehave. “It’s important that folks bear in mind that what they expect to happen has a big influence on what in fact does happen,” says Vogler.

--After a period like the holidays when you may have been drinking more than usual, take a week off from alcohol.

“Generally, the notion is Americans need to know more about alcohol,” Vogler says. “People are ignorant about how it affects your sleep, your sex life, your social behavior, your emotions.” You can learn a lot by watching other people drink, Vogler adds, but you’ll learn the most by watching yourself drink.