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Inspired by another question on this community about "the first time you drank alcohol", so I was just feeling like I'm the odd one out here.

I personally have never smoked (neither tobacco nor weed), never drank any alcohol. (Parents also don't do smoking, or drinking, or gambling so I kinda got lucky with the environment I grew up in, I guess...) Is that unusual? Gen Z btw.

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[-] 9point6@lemmy.world 24 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

Yes, in short, because I like them.

For better or worse, booze is a big part of British socialising culture, so it's unusual if someone my age (mid thirties millennial) has never drank, but a couple of my mates have gone tee total in recent years.

Why do I still do it? Beers with your mates whilst enjoying a beer garden or watching the footie is a pretty enjoyable way to pass the time. I'm also a bit of a nerd with it all so I love trying new beers, there's been a huge renaissance around beer variety over the past decade-ish, so there's always something new to try. I've gotten more into wine and cocktails in recent years too, and there's a rich well of variety in there to experience too.

Smoking tobacco I generally avoid now, it's nice to have the odd one with a beer but I'll probably only have a few a year now. I regularly smoked last in my 20s. I occasionally have ended up with a vape in my pocket after a big night out, but I don't really like them much flavour wise.

Weed is something I still enjoy, it helps me clear my head, relax, and kinda be more present with whatever activity I'm engaging in, if I'm smoking with mates it can often be a pretty hilarious time. However, it's easy for me to slip into habitual use with it especially though, I don't really seem to get much in the way of acute negative effects beyond tolerance, so I try to be mindful to keep it in check these days. I'll probably try and relegate it to a treat for when I visit somewhere like Amsterdam in the coming years given the downsides of smoking (I've got a vape, but I basically never choose it).

FWIW I've heard that Gen Z is differing their consumption habits significantly from previous generations. Less drinking alcohol in general, preferring non-smokeable forms of tobacco/weed.

this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2025
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