Canada

I keep seeing articles like this, but I think this entire narrative is being pushed by companies that have been selling tea and infusions as non-alcoholic gin and Rye at exorbitant prices. This article is a case in point. However, there is nothing novel about some people choosing not to drink or being unable to.

What I think is new is that we have smart watches that monitor various health metrics, including sleep and heart and stress. And these watches creat awareness of the impact that alcohol and other drugs have on our sleep and other factors. So I think the generational conclusion isn’t so much a new trend based on age, but I suspect aligns to the adoption of smart watches.

And then there was that multi year, piss-up known as the Covid & lockdowns in which people drank far more than historic averages, so the other fascinating conclusion in this article that people are drinking less could actually just people returning to past norms.

Then there was the insane price increases at bars and restaurants. Cocktails have nearly doubled in price and even bottles of low end beer have nearly doubled. So I get a lot more people wanting to hang out and drink at my place (I make cocktails) simply due to affordability and budget constraints.

Finally, there’s this whole return to office and spending time with clients and coworkers and I’m seeing the slow return back to prior behaviours.

President Krasnov is barely a month into his presidency, so I’d hold off on any conclusions for the time being.