My Smoking Alternatives

Going to the bar with your friends, but you don’t want to get drunk and have to deal with a serious hangover in the morning? There are alcohol alternatives that may be of interest to you. By considering your choices, you don’t have to be afraid to go and have fun with your friends. Social drinking is a part of life for many people.

There’s nothing wrong with responsible drinking, but some people for various reasons may not want to indulge. Maybe you’re on a diet, or you’re doing it for health reasons. Perhaps you just want to have a few drinks, but the night is long and the fun has only begun. So what are some good alcohol alternatives?

Alcohol-free beer is one such option. There are many beer companies who make an alcohol-free version of beer. Many of these are quite tasty, if you’re into the taste of beer. It has even given some people a type of placebo effect. They’ve felt a slight buzz from drinking the non-alcoholic beer, despite there being no alcohol in it. They even come in the same kind of beer bottle look and feel; so that when you drink it at the bar you don’t stand out from the rest of your friends.

Non-alcoholic beer can be one of the great alcohol alternatives for those who do want to drink at social gatherings, but don’t want to over indulge. You could drink one non-alcoholic beer for every regular beer. Or you could drink a cup of water for every beer you consume. This will fill up your stomach and also hydrate you. One of the big side effects of excessive alcohol consumption is dehydration and that can seriously affect your health.

If you’re at the bar or at a party, you could also order a drink that comes in the same cup as an ordinary mixed drink. Ginger ale and tonic water with a wedge of lemon or lime on the side looks a lot like Gin and Ale. Or you could order a “gin and juice” without the gin and just the orange juice. It’s all about perception in the social drinking setting. Your friends will soon be inebriated enough to not really notice that you’re just drinking orange juice.

Lastly, you could just outright refuse to drink anything with alcohol in it. Having plenty of bottled water available is a good alcohol alternative and definitely a good idea if you’re the designated driver. You could still join in with your friends in actually having a drink with you to hold in your hands or to have at your table with everyone else.

The alcohol alternatives discussed here are by no means exhaustive of the options available. While it may not be that difficult for you to stop drinking on your own, in social settings it can be a great challenge.  There are many more, but the basic ones have been covered here and this should be a good starting point for you.