# Is having a low alcohol tolerance really a big deal? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 15, 2003, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-low-alcohol-tolerance-really-a-big-deal/195282 "2003-08-15T00:53:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nitek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@nitek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitek)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-low-alcohol-tolerance-really-a-big-deal/195282/21 "2003-08-16T02:15:03Z")
Some tips I’ve learned or thought of for light drinkers who get pressured: If someone is pushing drinks on you and won’t take no for an answer, accept it but don’t drink it. Just hold it. Chances are they won’t notice and if they do hopefully they’ll learn not to waste their money. If you’re in a very boisterous crowd that’s yelling repetitious things like, “CHUG, CHUG, CHUG” or, “DRINK, DRINK, DRINK” just join in the chanting. That seems confuse them pretty quick. I certainly didn’t know how to react to it when someone did it to me on one of my more assanine occasions. Finally, if someone is really giving you grief and you don’t care about offending them then tell them that your self worth isn’t dependent on how much you drink (you may or may not want to include a pointed look). ---
**Author:** ![cletus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@cletus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cletus)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-low-alcohol-tolerance-really-a-big-deal/195282/22 "2003-08-16T08:06:05Z")
I use to be a pretty heavy drinker. I would go through a case a day, starting with a beer in the morning when I woke up until the beer at night before brushing and sleep. Consequently, I did experience all the negative aspects of drinking too much. Everything from blackouts to a beer gut was common. I also had a fairly high tolerance. It took a lot to get me drunk. Nowadays, I hardly drink at all. I purchased a bottle of vodka a few months ago and half of it’s still sitting in my freezer. I didn’t realize this until I had gotten said bottle of volka but my tolerance is incredibly low. A small glass of it was enough to make the room spin. I mention all this to show I have been on both sides. I can compare the two viewpoints from personal experience. I have to agree with the OP that low tolerance is much better. I just can’t believe how little it takes to get me drunk! It’s hard for me to understand how a low tolerance is considered a BAD thing. Especially after having been a heavy drinker myself. Of course, I’m the type that drinks to get drunk so YMMV. I noticed it’s mostly a social pressure to be able to drink large amounts. The only advice I can give is don’t be so easily swayed. Or, get some better friends. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-low-alcohol-tolerance-really-a-big-deal/195282/23 "2003-08-16T20:34:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yosemitebabe \* > \*\*I don’t even understand this whole thing about drinking at all. > > I don’t drink. I never have, except for a few sips now and then. I probably have a low tolerance (I’ve never tested it) but I decided a long time ago I had no need for drinking. I don’t think there’s anything that terrible about it, but I’ve seen it abused (a close family friend was an alcoholic) and I’m just not interested. > > So why do some people (not all the time, just sometimes) have to “grill” me about why I don’t drink? As if it’s something to _them?_ As if my not drinking affects _them?_ It doesn’t. In fact, it’s a good thing; it means that they always know who will happily be their designated driver. > > I think this alcohol tolerance “stigma” (if there is one, which I think there is) branches from the same mindset. That there is some _meaning_ or significance to drinking. There is not. Either you want to drink or you don’t, and someone else’s not drinking (or drinking less) shouldn’t mean anything. So why does it? > > I sure don’t get it. \*\* Personally, I feel a little uncomfortable drinking (heavily at a party, say, not a couple over dinner) around a non-drinker, unless I know the non-drinkers well, in which case I’m MORE comfortable than I would be if everyone was drinking- I know there will be somebody pointing out the possible consequences of the stupid ideas I come up with. Someone else said tolerance is only built by drinking… this is untrue. The only way to increase one’s tolerance is to increase body mass, or to take liver accelerators. However, regular drinking improves your ability to mask the effects of alcohol. Oh, and being Asian isn’t necessarily a bad thing… Indians are Asians too, and have ridiculously high tolerances. (Most of my dad’s med school buddies can quite easily polish off a soda siphon and a bottle of Jack in an evening) ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-low-alcohol-tolerance-really-a-big-deal/195282/24 "2003-08-16T20:49:50Z")
Jack and soda? That’s a new one on me, but then I only this year discovered rum and tonic. > [@](#): > > I developed a high tolerance long ago, and that’s one of those things that doesn’t change no matter how long you go without a drink. The exact opposite of my experience. When I’ve occasionally gone for periods of a month or more with no alcohol, my tolerance is significantly lowered. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-low-alcohol-tolerance-really-a-big-deal/195282/25 "2003-08-16T21:37:29Z")
Another low tolerance individual. One drink and I feel flushed and as if I had cotton in my mouth. A few minutes later? Sleeeeepy. This isn’t a bad thing, since I loathe the taste of alcohol! Julie [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-low-alcohol-tolerance-really-a-big-deal/195282.md?page=1)