Adrian Chiles and “The Good Drinker”

British sports and business presenter Adrian Chiles never thought of himself as a problem drinker; after all, he only drank when there was a reason. The problem? There was always a reason. It’s a thought process many of us are familiar with: 

“If you’ve had a good day, you want a drink. Or a bad day. Or even just a boring day. A wedding’s a good excuse to drink and, even more so, funerals. If you’ve won a match, or lost a match, or had a row with someone or are getting on well with someone. If you’re going out, or staying in. Or whatever. There’s always an excuse to drink.”

And now, Chiles claims, he’s found a happy medium. After a health scare finally made him question all those “reasons” that led him to put away up to 100 units of booze per week (well over the UK’s recommended limit of 14), he “cut back” to about 30 and wrote a book about it: The Good Drinker. What is Adrian Chiles’ book all about? And is he really as “good” of a drinker (whatever that means) as he fancies himself to be?

Adrian Chiles Before “The Good Drinker”

Adrian Chiles carved out a niche for himself as a familiar face and voice in British television and journalism. Known for his work as a business and sports presenter for BBC and ITV, he’s chatted it up on programs such as The One Show and Daybreak, worked as chief football presenter for ITV Sport, and presented Working Lunch and The Money Programme.

In 2018, Chiles presented a documentary titled Drinkers Like Me. At some point, he was horrified to discover that he’d been downing around 80 to 100 units of alcohol per week. A unit is typically defined as 14g, which is a typical shot. Can you imagine taking that many shots a week? As he told the Belfast Telegraph, “I’ve worked out that if I lined up every drink I’ve ever had, the row of glasses would stretch beyond two-and-a-half miles — the length of 44 football pitches.” 

This (understandably) disturbing news was coupled with a health scare that served as a harbinger of potential liver problems on the horizon. Even though his blood tests had been normal at this point, a liver scan showed that he had developed mild fibrosis. His doctors made it clear that if he kept drinking that much, he’d be on a path to serious liver damage.

Becoming “The Good Drinker”

With this new information, Chiles decided to give those 100 units per week another thought. Perhaps he didn’t need that many?

In The Good Drinker, Chiles claims that he learned to moderate his drinking without saying goodbye to the whole lineup entirely, as many in his position would probably be advised to do. He weaves in plenty of personal anecdotes and writes with the expert flair of a seasoned storyteller, coming across as authentic and down-to-earth. 

He also criticizes addiction expert Allen Carr, who famously went from 100 cigarettes a day to zero simply by changing his mindset around addiction. Chiles gripes that Carr’s subsequent book, The Easy Way To Control Alcohol, is a misnomer, comparing it to “selling a book called The Easy Way To Avoid Car Accidents, in which the advice is not to get into a car.”

It might be true that Carr’s title is a bit of a bait-and-switch. But is Chiles’ title a bit misleading as well? Did he find a way to have his proverbial cake and eat (or drink) it, too? Admittedly, he makes some powerful points, but there are also major flaws in his argument. Let’s take a closer look. 

“The Good Drinker” Cutting Back

As much as Chiles insists his 100 units a week weren’t a “problem,” he admits there was something wrong with his level of attachment to booze. In conversation with a friend who had to stop for health reasons, he admits that his “social drinking” isn’t much to be envious of: “. . . if there was a gathering down the road from here this evening, of a hundred friends and acquaintances who I really liked, I’d be looking forward to the event very much. But if, for whatever reason, I couldn’t drink, I’d be pretty much dreading it.”

So Chiles decided to “cut back,” but didn’t quit completely. Today, according to an Independent article, he drinks between 20 and 30 units a week. 

The “Good” Parts of “The Good Drinker”

We’ll get back to whether 30 alcohol units per week is worth bragging about, but for now, let’s focus on some good insights Chiles shares in The Good Drinker:

• Less is more. Chiles realized that beyond the first drink, alcohol isn’t doing anyone any good. As he says in an interview with Express, "Every subsequent drink you then have is a fruitless attempt to recreate the first drink. I became mindful of that."
• Heavy drinking takes a toll. Chiles suffered from anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, and more, and they all improved when he cut back on alcohol. These are only a few of the many research-backed benefits of cutting back on booze.
• It’s not about the booze. Chiles talks about how the “fun” in social interactions and other fulfilling events isn’t coming from the alcohol — the experience itself is responsible for the positive feelings. That said, he doesn’t seem to embrace this idea completely in practice (more on that later).
• Don’t believe the buzz about alcohol “benefits.” In both the book and interviews, Chiles talks about the media’s influence on how alcohol is perceived and points out the dangerously misleading claims about its “benefits.” His article in The Guardian invites the reader to accept that “drinking is bad for you” and to “ignore the headlines that claim otherwise.” 

Chiles goes on to point out that a lot of these claims are qualified by fine-print disclaimers, and that many turn out to be much more uncertain than the headlines proclaim. True that.

• Don’t give in to the pressure. He also acknowledges social pressures related to drinking. As he puts it: “alcohol is the only drug you have to apologize for not taking.”
• Labels don’t help. He points out that defining people as “alcoholics” vs. “non-alcoholics” can be counterproductive, and it is. Alcohol use disorder is a complex issue, and there is a spectrum. To explore the criteria for AUD, take a look at our blog: “I Drink Every Night. Am I an Alcoholic?”
• There are many other “Drinkers Like Me.” Chiles writes, “The vast majority of drinkers like me believe they are not problem drinkers. Because we don’t conform to the stereotype of the ‘alcoholic’ — drinking in the morning, passing out in the street, etc. — we don’t think we’re addicted to, or dependent on, alcohol.”

Many people can identify with his experience. Addressing alcohol-related problems faced by this population without casting blame is certainly a step in the right direction.

Indeed, he makes some good points and observations about drinking culture and all its complexities.

The Missing Pieces and Dangers of “The Good Drinker”

That said, there are also some serious problems with the way Chiles sees booze. The main problem? He still drinks a lot of it and feels like he “needs” it to maintain his quality of life. Taken at face value, some of his arguments might lead some to make dangerous choices. 

Let’s take a look at these aspects of The Good Drinker from a scientific perspective:

• Chiles is still drinking too much. Drinking 30 drinks a week poses serious health risks. The WHO's statement about alcohol makes this point crystal clear: “When it comes to alcohol consumption, there is no safe amount that does not affect health.” And while Chiles does acknowledge the dangers of booze to some extent, there’s a bit of a disconnect between theory and practice.
• He could be on a slippery slope. It takes a lot less than Chiles’s current intake to throw off the ability of our prefrontal cortex to make decisions. The result? 30 (or even less) can easily turn back into 100, or maybe even more. 

• He might have some cognitive distortions about alcohol. When talking about the reasons he’s still drinking in The Good Drinker, he writes about his hesitation to give up drinking completely: “Rightly or wrongly, there would be a social price to pay.” While the concerns about social pressures are valid, many people find that when they cut back more substantially (or quit altogether), they regain the spark and joy of genuine interaction,
• It could be dangerous for those with alcohol use disorder (AUD). For those who are drinking as much as he was (and is) and those who have been diagnosed with AUD, the idea of only cutting back (especially to an amount that’s still excessive) could be dangerous. Science shows us that misusing alcohol changes the dopamine pathways in our brain, making it harder to stop once we start drinking. 
• It can also be dangerous for someone who has already stopped drinking. Picking up drinking after we’ve misused alcohol and quit can be dangerous because of the neural wiring that remains altered years after the misuse has stopped. For example, a recent Science study talks about vulnerability to relapse after prolonged abstinence, given that our brain retains a “persistent alcohol cue memory trace” in its wiring.

A “Reframed” Way to see “The Good Drinker”

While Chiles is on the right track with some of the ideas he has, he is still emotionally attached to alcohol. If we want a life completely free of alcohol and all its side effects, we have to go a few steps further: 

• Examine alcohol’s role in your life. How does drinking make you feel? What does it do for your interactions with friends? Your creative work? Your ability to think clearly? What about activities that don’t involve alcohol? If you keep an open mind, you might be surprised to discover how little the actual substance in your glass has to do with the positive experiences you end up treasuring for years to come.
• Give mocktails a try. Chiles talks about his newfound love for alcohol-free beer in his interview with the Independent: “A game-changer is draught alcohol-free beer in pubs because it’s got equal standing to other beers. When you’ve a pint of it in your hand, you look and feel the same as anybody else.”

There are plenty of other options out there as well! Beyond just having something in your hand, there’s a good chance you’ll find something you’ll look forward to drinking just as much (if not more). Need some ideas? Take a look at our blog “Guide to the Best Healthy Mocktails.”
• Nourish your body and hydrate. The Independent article goes on to say, “These days, he’ll have a half-and-half pint of shandy (but with soda water instead of lemonade) and alternate his drinks with glasses of water.” He certainly seems to be on the right track! It’s a good idea to alternate drinks with water. Add to that a nutritious meal before a night out and a replenishing breakfast the morning after, and things are looking even better.

As you examine your relationship with alcohol and commit to honestly exploring a life without it, you will feel less and less attached to it. In time, you’re bound to see improvements in all areas of your life — everything from better health and mental clarity to more authentic relationships — to help you build momentum and keep going.

A Goal Worth Exploring

As Chiles writes in an article in The Guardian, “The capacity to achieve intoxication without the benefit of alcohol is surely a life skill worth acquiring. I’m getting there. Whether I can achieve intoxication without the benefit of football is another matter.” It’s a goal worth exploring. Let’s hope that all of us, Chiles included, can one day get there.