My Sober Feud With Nonalcoholic Drinks
Well Ian Lecklitner seems to have a bit of emotional baggage to offload here, doesn’t he. His feud (read blaming) with N/A beverage producers is a bit unfair and off the mark.
Let me start by congratulating him for achieving sobriety which itself is quite an undertaking. I know since I got sober myself in 2006. But in all fairness to sober people, people trying to get sober, or still struggling with an addiction, his laying blame at the feet of N/A beverage manufacturers is a bit over the top and unhelpful.
First, his comparisons of N/A beverages to Juul and diet soda lacks logic. Vaping is just a smokeless delivery system for the same addictive substance, namely nicotine (or THC). N/A beverages do not deliver any addictive substance of which I am aware (sugar, maybe?). Diet sodas often contain unhealthy, artificial sweeteners which can carry their own health implications. What are the health risks associated with N/A beverages?
Second, he fails to demonstrate an understanding of what addictive behaviors are about. They reflect a need for temporary relief of emotional pain often rooted in past experiences. Yes, the need to change habits, people, places, and things that are harmful is often helpful particularly in early recovery which is the trickiest time. If N/A beverages are a trigger, then a person in recovery should avoid them just as they avoid the real thing. N/A beverages represent harm elimination not harm reduction, as vaping companies would have you believe about their products. If I had come across smokeless “Crack” back in my day, would it have qualified as harm reduction? Would it have changed the nature of my addiction?
People in recovery can often feel “other than” when socializing. If an N/A beverage helps them feel more connected by the common experience of having a special beverage, then I’m glad they have that alternative.
Being truly comfortable in recovery/sobriety takes more than abstaining. It takes a self-knowledge of underlying issues, a personal understanding of what people and situations support/undermine sobriety, and perhaps even some well targeted therapy. Bashing N/A manufacturers as opportunistically capitalizing on people trying to be sober seems like it might promote victimhood or excuse accountability for one’s own recovery. This perspective is not helpful to those people.
