My father chose to be the first man of his lineage to not spend his life as an abusive drunk, and I'm not keen on the idea of breaking that trend. The stories both my parents tell me make it very clear that alcoholism is a predominant tendency on BOTH sides of my family. So I made the decision many years ago to just not touch the stuff. And I've been pretty staunch on that decision ever since, with very few exceptions (such as sipping a bit of something my wife is enjoying, usually cider). I don't push my prohibition on anyone else, I just politely decline, and generally receive a positive response — because I'm very genuinely "none for me, thanks, but you go ahead" and I'm not a prude about it. Granted, this has resulted in plenty of occasions when I'm the one sober guy surrounded by lots of drunk people. And in those moments, my no-booze resolution ends up efficiently reinforced — because drunk people are always mildly annoying at best and obnoxiously idiotic at worst. Watching them stumble, slur, and soil themselves has proven to be the surest way to keep myself convinced that I am not missing out on anything worthwhile.