[stephen_greet]

I noticed something similar. I quit drinking ~4 months ago once I realized I was drinking way too much during quarantine.

Since then I can't stop noticing the prevalence of alcohol in nearly all aspects of pop culture. Even innocuous seeming sitcoms have episodes where the whacky, lovable characters drink to excess and have to deal with a hangover.

[sammalloy]

There was a time in American cinema and television when most major characters were using tobacco and alcohol on screen in a highly conspicuous manner. I don't recall the specific details, but I think I remember reading that tobacco and alcohol use was written into scenes by advertisers to promote smoking and drinking. There are certain decades of film and television production where you rarely see a scene without a lit cigarette or pipe and a glass of liquor.