For myself, it is many reasons. I have taken sips of alcohol from time to time, mostly because I've had friends who INSIST that I should try this drink or that drink because "you can't even taste the alcohol!" What people who drink don't realize is that alcohol is a REALLY strong taste and, no matter what fruity crap you mix it with, it will always stick out like a sore thumb to someone not used to drinking it. To people that drink regularly, I'm sure they DON'T taste the alcohol, but I sure as hell do. That's one reason. The taste is terrible. There are many others. Money (alcohol isn't really cheap), health (both in not getting drunk and in just not consuming empty calories), just as a personal challenge to myself to not drink. It also makes it a lot easier to tell your kids not to drink because they can't point at you drinking or getting drunk and call you a hypocrite. But most importantly to me is that damn near every person in my immediate family has had a problem with some controlled substance at some point in their life. I really, really want to be one of the first to not go down that road. Part of that is I think it is in my family's genes to have a slightly (or sometimes not so slight) addictive personality. I know enough about myself to know if I allowed myself to start, I might find it way too difficult to keep it under control. So...I just don't allow it to get to that point. I have no problem with drinking, or getting drunk, morally. Some of the best nights of my life have been when my wife comes home from a night with her friends good and drunk. But it's not my scene.
