You make a good point. So in answer to your questions - Could I? Yes! Would I? Not without a bloody good reason! Let me explain. I could also go for a month without, say, nice food. I could survive on gruel. It would be healthier etc. etc. but I wouldn't want to do it. I quit smoking a while back after 10 years because it was getting expensive. It was easy - I didn't look back. If I had a reason not to drink, then I would stop. But as things stand I enjoy it. I rarely get drunk, just that nice warm feeling! My intake hasn't altered over the years, there's no tolerance. I think people are too quick to say that drinking leads to heavy drinking which leads to alcoholism, just as they are to say that all pot users will eventually use hard drugs. Even the medical community can't actually say what an alcoholic is, or even a heavy drinker. I once took one of their surveys and it said I definately wasn't a problem drinker! Even my GP doesn't seem all that bothered, she just said I should probably stop at 3 or 4 a night...?! (well above "recommended" limits) I have never, and would never be blaze about my health, however when you consider the potential maladies that (non-extreme) alcohol intake can cause, you'd probably be better off giving up a few food groups. Plus, I live happy in the knowledge that my alcohol intake has already slashed my risk of heart disease...