[Marsymars]

I get how one could pretty easily fall into a group of people who drink on a weekly (or more frequent) basis.

That being said, of people I'm close to, my parents are a good counter-example. They split one beer every month or so.

[bigfudge]

Out of interest. What do people do at social occasions? What would you do if you met a friend after work on a Friday night? I think we need better options for this in the Uk... most cafes shut and not drinking in a pub still feels weird (and soft drinks are so sweet)

[Marsymars]

I've never had much trouble getting alcohol-free drinks at pubs/bars in Canada. More hip places usually have alcohol-free options (alcohol-free beer/cocktails, kombucha, etc.), and less hip places will at least have some kind of bagged herbal tea if you're avoiding caffeine. Bars/pubs will pretty much always have coffee too, even if it's not especially good.

[yakubin]

Pole here. I only drink when I go out with someone, or have a party. Mostly wine, once a couple years vodka. Occasionally, when I have company during lunch, we drink one glass of wine to it. Oftentimes though, when I invite someone over, we don't drink alcohol, I make lemonade or tea. Lemonade with matcha and ice cubes is a great replacement. Maybe more places should offer lemonade?

PS. It's not uncommon for me to drink 3 glasses of wine a year. Although recently I've been more social, so it's been 1-2 glasses of wine every 1-2 weeks. I don't go out of my way to drink alcohol, but I also don't avoid it.