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For the fitness-conscious, alcohol has joined sodium and cholesterol as a substance devoutly to be avoided. The active ingredient in alcohol is ethanol, a depressant closely akin to ether. It dulls perceptions, slows reactions and contains "empty" carbohydrate calories, that is, with no nutritional value. It also relieves stress by releasing endorphins, chemicals that calm the nervous system. Many people drink to relieve stress, says John Bagshaw, a University of California associate professor of medicine, but they often cut down consumption or quit entirely when they begin an exercise program. Reason: the endorphins released by a workout preclude the need for alcohol. Tapering off for health reasons may be an enduring trend for an aging and sedentary population. "We're becoming a nation of clerks," says Megatrends Author John Naisbitt. "Over 70% of us process information; if we don't take care of our bodies, we'll go to pot."
Many firms now penalize or fire those who drink on the job, and a few even ban drinking at company picnics. A provision in the new contract between Anheuser-Busch and the Teamsters and other unions is gradually eliminating beer breaks and free lunchtime brew over a one-year "transition" period. Instead, 9,000 employees will be given free six-packs to take home or may choose additional benefits, like more health insurance. Says Company Spokesman James Morice: "Basically, it was a matter of reflecting contemporary concerns."
Not everyone is tapering off, of course. According to the Yankelovich poll, 26% of the population continues to drink as it always has. Marshall Lyons, 31, a Berkeley, Calif., tree surgeon, even gives nostalgic martini (stir, don't shake) parties, complete with Peggy Lee music, because, he says, "martinis have the aesthetic of cold steel. They're like contemporary graphics." Dudley's, a workingman's tavern in Atlanta, has not slacked off selling ten kegs of beer a week as it has for years. "We're a neighborhood place," says Manager Tas Cofer. "We get workers from GM, construction men, manual laborers. They know everybody, and they say, 'I'm going to party with those guys before I go home.' "
Even before Americans began cutting back, the U.S. was temperate about alcohol, at least by comparison with many other nations where drinking is deeply woven into the fabric of social life. Changes now are also visible abroad. Thanks to a government sobriety pitch and a burgeoning fitness trend, in 1984 French consumption of table wine was down 4% from the year before. Diabolo Menthe (mint-flavored fizzy lemonade) and Brut de Pomme (a cider) are the latest nonalcoholic quaffs at cafes. "People used to drink wine with their meals as a matter of course," Claude Vilain, of France's Committee for Health Education, says. "Now it's something for weekends and guests." Perhaps, but whiskey drinking is on the rise, as are sales in higher-priced vintages. Alain Maurel of Alexis Lichine & Cie, a Bordeaux wine firm, says, "The French are more aware of quality. There has been so much specialist wine coverage in the press. Wine is a star now." When asked if Moet-Hennessy, famed for its champagnes and cognacs, would produce soft drinks, a spokesman cried, "Absolutely not!"