Is Alcohol So Ingrained in Our Society That We Think We Can’t Live Without It?

Walk down any British high street on a Friday evening and the signs are hard to miss: pubs spilling onto pavements, supermarket aisles stacked with cheap wine, Prosecco advertised as a “treat” for surviving the school run. Alcohol is not just a drink in the UK; it’s a cultural marker, a social lubricant, and — for many — an unquestioned part of everyday life.

But have we allowed it to become so ingrained in our society that we genuinely believe life without it is unthinkable?

The cultural default

From christenings to funerals, leaving dos to weddings, alcohol is threaded through almost every life event. A toast without champagne is often seen as incomplete, a Saturday night without pints “boring”. Advertising reinforces this at every turn, suggesting that alcohol means glamour, relaxation or camaraderie. Even government receptions and charity fundraisers are rarely dry.

The result is a powerful cultural script: drinking is normal, expected, even necessary. Anyone who opts out risks being labelled a killjoy or, worse, questioned about whether they have “a problem”.

A national contradiction

Paradoxically, Britain also has a long history of worrying about its own drinking habits. From Hogarth’s 18th-century “Gin Lane” to today’s NHS campaigns, we’ve been wringing our hands about alcohol misuse for centuries. And yet, the message remains mixed: drink responsibly, but don’t stop altogether. Celebrate with a pint, but don’t overdo it.

This contradiction leaves many caught in the middle — aware of the harms, but unable to imagine a social life that doesn’t revolve around the pub, the bottle shop, or the glass of wine at home.

Breaking the illusion

The reality, of course, is that life without alcohol is not only possible but increasingly embraced. A growing number of young people are turning away from drinking altogether, while alcohol-free alternatives are booming. Coffee shops now rival pubs as gathering places, and “sober curious” movements are reframing abstinence as aspirational rather than punitive.

Yet stigma lingers. The idea that a dinner party without wine is incomplete, or that holidays abroad without cocktails are joyless, speaks to how deeply the association between alcohol and pleasure has been drilled into us.

Rethinking what we celebrate

The challenge is not just personal but cultural. To truly shift, we need to rewrite the script: toasting with sparkling water, dancing sober at weddings, celebrating milestones without a hangover the next day. These are not losses but gains. They allow us to enjoy life fully present, rather than dulled or blurred by alcohol.

A society in transition

Perhaps the better question is not whether we can live without alcohol, but why we have convinced ourselves that we can’t. For generations, we’ve been told that drinking is the ticket to belonging, fun, and even adulthood. But step outside that frame — join a walking group, a sober meet-up, or simply choose not to drink at the next family gathering — and the illusion starts to crumble.

Life without alcohol is not only possible; it is rich, vibrant, and, increasingly, a quiet act of resistance against a culture that has for too long told us otherwise.