• An illustration by Mariaelena Caputi of two upside-down triangular hazard signs creating two cocktail glasses ready to toast.
  • An illustration by Mariaelena Caputi of two upside-down triangular hazard signs creating two cocktail glasses ready to toast.

How to think about the demon drink

Health warnings about alcohol give only half the story. Enjoyment matters as well as risk.

The WHO says flatly that there is “no safe level” of alcohol consumption.⁠ But over-zealousness can be counter-productive. Many people enjoy the taste of a good beer or wine, or appreciate the buzz that alcohol provides, or take pleasure in the social rituals, like a pub trip or a dinner party, which it lubricates. All that pleasure and enjoyment belongs on the scales alongside the (equally real) harm and suffering.

  • An illustration by Mariaelena Caputi of two upside-down triangular hazard signs creating two cocktail glasses ready to toast.
  • An illustration by Mariaelena Caputi of two upside-down triangular hazard signs creating two cocktail glasses ready to toast.

How to think about the demon drink

Health warnings about alcohol give only half the story. Enjoyment matters as well as risk.

The WHO says flatly that there is “no safe level” of alcohol consumption.⁠ But over-zealousness can be counter-productive. Many people enjoy the taste of a good beer or wine, or appreciate the buzz that alcohol provides, or take pleasure in the social rituals, like a pub trip or a dinner party, which it lubricates. All that pleasure and enjoyment belongs on the scales alongside the (equally real) harm and suffering.