Will cutting down on drinking make me uncool?减少饮酒会让我显得不够酷吗？
Reducing alcohol comes with benefits from improved health and sleep, to thriving social connections without drinking. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Amid a global decline in alcohol consumption, the writer reflects on the social implications of drinking less.
ST assistant Life editor Clara Lock has reduced her alcohol consumption drastically since April.
ST PHOTOS: COURTESY OF CLARA LOCK
Published Sep 20, 2026, 05:00 AM
Updated Sep 21, 2026, 10:06 AM
My heart sank in late 2025 when a friend, with whom I have shared many heartfelt conversations over wine and cheese, told me she had given up alcohol. Trying to be supportive, I held back from lamenting, but felt a sense of loss. Our meetings over the past seven years, ostensibly built around a book club, used to turn quickly from literature to the self-disclosure that came with drink. Would conversations be the same over tea or sparkling water?
The joke is on me because now, I find myself wondering if my friends think the same thing. Since April, I have reduced my alcohol consumption drastically – from three to four glasses of wine each night at my peak, to about three to four drinks in a month.
Food and beverage sector
在全球酒精消费量下降的背景下，作者反思了减少饮酒的社会影响。
自四月份以来，《海峡时报》生活版助理编辑克拉拉·洛克大幅减少了饮酒量。
图片由克拉拉·洛克提供
发布于 2026 年 9 月 20 日上午 5:00
更新于2026年9月21日上午10:06
2025 年末，一位朋友告诉我她戒酒了，我的心顿时沉了下去。我们曾一起品酒吃奶酪，促膝长谈，促膝长谈，情谊深厚。为了表示支持，我强忍着不让自己难过，但心中却涌起一股失落感。过去七年，我们表面上是读书会，但每次聚会很快就从文学话题转移到酒后吐真言的自我剖析。如果换成茶或苏打水，我们的谈话还会是同样的感觉吗？
现在看来，我真是被耍了，因为我开始怀疑我的朋友们是不是也这么想。从四月份开始，我大幅减少了饮酒量——以前最多的时候每晚要喝三四杯葡萄酒，现在一个月才喝三四杯。
食品饮料行业