# Can older men drink as much? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 6, 2013, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-older-men-drink-as-much/665470 "2013-08-06T04:06:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![montezuma3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc348/32.png) [@montezuma3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/montezuma3)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-older-men-drink-as-much/665470/1 "2013-08-06T04:06:15Z")
My husband is 67. He drinks a 75 ml bottle a day or more. Tonight he drank a whole 1.5 Liter bottle. I know he has drinking problem because he wishes he could control it but he can’t. I wonder if this will hurt him medically in any way? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-older-men-drink-as-much/665470/2 "2013-08-06T04:16:00Z")
Even chronic alcoholics can live a surprisingly long time if they have food and shelter and medical care. Eventually it does catch up with you. See > **[Long-term effects of alcohol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-term_effects_of_alcohol)** > > The long-term heavy consumption of alcohol (alcohol use disorder) can cause severe detrimental effects. Health effects associated with alcohol intake in large amounts include an increased risk of developing an alcohol use disorder, malnutrition, chronic pancreatitis, erectile dysfunction, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, gastritis, stomach ulcers, alcoholic liver disease, certain types of dementia, and several types of cancer. In addition, damage to the central nervous system and periphera Th... I assume you are talking about hard alcohol re the .75 l and 1.5 l amounts. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-older-men-drink-as-much/665470/3 "2013-08-06T04:19:35Z")
75 ml. versus 1500 ml. of what? Seventy-five ml. is one tall shot. Are you saying that he drank a tall shot of hard liquor one day and then drank _a liter and a half_ of hard liquor the following day? It is difficult to believe that he could even survive consuming that much EtOH. On the other hand, if you’re talking about beer, then 5 tablespoons of beer isn’t going to harm him. He could legally drive after consuming that. One and a half liters of beer is pushing it for a guy his age. But if he only does it once a week, then it probably won’t harm him. YMMV; human biochemical individuality is a remarkable thing. ETA: basic rule of thumb is that people need to cool their jets on alcohol as they age. Old people can’t drink as much as young people. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-older-men-drink-as-much/665470/4 "2013-08-06T04:22:05Z")
I would guess the OP meant 750 ml, which is a standard wine bottle size. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-older-men-drink-as-much/665470/5 "2013-08-06T04:58:04Z")
> [@montezuma3](#): > > My husband is 67. He drinks a 75 ml bottle a day or more. Tonight he drank a whole 1.5 Liter bottle. I know he has drinking problem because he wishes he could control it but he can’t. I wonder if this will hurt him medically in any way? What drink was it ? Beer is typically 5% Alcohol. Wine is typically 15%. Port or Sherry or other fortified grape juice is 25% alcohol . Spirits, all sorts of distilled spirits such as whiskey, rum,vodka , tequila, gin , and brandy, 40% . 600 mL of alcohol (1.5 L of whiskey) , at ONCE, just due to drinking that once, is into the fatal range. I thought that it was vital to say that 1.5 L of wine is also quite dangerous, due to the risk of drowning on ones own vomit, and being too seriously hung over. (there’s other stuff in wine, it makes people sick , even to have heart/blood pressure problems.) One tip to controlling alcohol consumption is that its difficult to take too much beer or wine, as it has other stuff in it that makes one feel sick when one has had “enough”. (eg too much water… its just hard to drink that much !.) This may work if there is only beer or wine available. However, when one has consumed a little acholol , eg just a single 400 mL of beer or wine, then one may feel the desire to get drunk on spirits, and find the feeling uncontrollable. So if the spirits are still available, then drinking any alcohol leads to overconsumption… ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-older-men-drink-as-much/665470/6 "2013-08-06T06:09:05Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I assume you are talking about hard alcohol … I think it’s probably wine. As Isilder indicates, it would be notable to survive consuming 1.5 l of hard liquor in a day. Regularly consuming half that would reliably lead to serious problems. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-older-men-drink-as-much/665470/7 "2013-08-06T12:38:03Z")
My first thought was that the OP was talking about bottles of water, but I didn’t see how that was a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-older-men-drink-as-much/665470/8 "2013-08-06T15:31:47Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > My first thought was that the OP was talking about bottles of water, but I didn’t see how that was a problem. Could be, who knows, the OP was pretty vague. Like asking “Is it healty if I eat 16 oz. per day?” ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-older-men-drink-as-much/665470/9 "2013-08-06T18:41:05Z")
Water doesn’t normally come in 750/1500 mL units. Beer sometimes comes in 750 mL, almost never in handles. So I assume either wine or hard alcohol. Neither is good, wine is pushing it at best. On the other hand, Lemmy Kilmister is 67 and claims to drink a bottle of Jack, presumably 750 mL, every day for almost 40 years. But I wouldn’t recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-older-men-drink-as-much/665470/10 "2013-08-06T18:49:51Z")
Since this involves medical advice, let’s move it to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-older-men-drink-as-much/665470/11 "2013-08-07T00:59:09Z")
> [@montezuma3](#): > > My husband is 67. He drinks a 75 ml bottle a day or more. Tonight he drank a whole 1.5 Liter bottle. I know he has drinking problem because he wishes he could control it but he can’t. I wonder if this will hurt him medically in any way? No. He’ll be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-older-men-drink-as-much/665470/12 "2013-08-07T01:25:31Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > . Old people can’t drink as much as young people. Challenge Accepted!! ---
**Author:** ![NotDeadYet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotDeadYet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotDeadYet)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-older-men-drink-as-much/665470/13 "2013-08-07T02:47:55Z")
If you make the assumption that the OP is referring to hard liquor, drinking a 5th a night is definitely a drinking problem – regardless of age. Wishing he could control his drinking but cannot is indicative of alcoholism. According to the Betty Ford Clinic; “First, from studies on hospitalized patients reported in The Journal of the American Medical Association (September 8, 1993), people in the age group between 45 and 64 years had the highest rate of alcoholism. Those 65 years and older had the next highest occurrence of alcohol problems and the group with the third highest rate consisted of people from 25 to 44 years of age. Since this data is based upon a select group (i.e., hospitalized patients), it is possible that the actual percentage of alcohol problems may be higher among the youngest group.” - See more at: [Betty Ford Center: Drug Rehab in Rancho Mirage, California](http://www.bettyfordcenter.org/treatment/doctors-office/what-age-groups-experience-alcoholism-most.php#sthash.0Vy6XT5r.dpuf) Other sources indicate that young people have the highest rate of alcohol related death. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-older-men-drink-as-much/665470/14 "2013-08-07T03:18:43Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > On the other hand, Lemmy Kilmister is 67 and claims to drink a bottle of Jack, presumably 750 mL, every day for almost 40 years. But I wouldn’t recommend it. He has made it quite clear that he does not want to live forever. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-older-men-drink-as-much/665470/15 "2013-08-07T03:21:32Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally Posted by **Washoe** > > . Old people can’t drink as much as young people. > > Challenge Accepted!! Your username suggests this might not be wise. ---
**Author:** ![thatguyjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6de8d8/32.png) [@thatguyjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thatguyjeff)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-older-men-drink-as-much/665470/16 "2013-08-07T17:39:30Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > I think it’s probably wine. As Isilder indicates, it would be notable to survive consuming 1.5 l of hard liquor in a day. Regularly consuming half that would reliably lead to serious problems. Nope. Some “hard core” alcoholics can do this (consume 1.5 liters of 80 proof alcohol) every day and live long lives. Doing so will, eventually, lead to health problems - liver, “wet brain,” etc., but these don’t necessarily manifest themselves over the same length of time for different people. It’s akin to smoking as far as the physical damage aspect. One person smokes for a few years in their twenties and dies of lung cancer at age 40. Someone else smokes 2 packs a day for 40+ years and lives to be 90. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-older-men-drink-as-much/665470/17 "2013-08-07T19:25:24Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > ETA: basic rule of thumb is that people need to cool their jets on alcohol as they age. Old people can’t drink as much as young people. There was a list going around the Internet several years ago, titled, “Signs That You’ve Grown Up”. One item on the list was: “I’m never drinking that much again!” becomes, “I just can’t drink like I used to.” Being 47 now, I can relate. Near the end of my 20s, when I was drinking too much, I was putting away a _minimum_ of a 12-pack of beer every single night, and feeling little or no ill effects the next day. Now, if I don’t stop after a six pack, I suffer for it all the next day. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-older-men-drink-as-much/665470/18 "2013-08-07T23:05:07Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > He has made it quite clear that he does not want to live forever. 🙂 He sucks at dying then! I will note that there is a documentary called “Motörhead: Live Fast, Die Old”.