We've never been healthier... no wonder we're so miserable

Drinking is older than writing.

- JACK BURKE

The Sumerians brewed beer long before they built cities. For millennia, alcohol has been woven through religion, ritual and friendship – a shared act of trust and surrender. It's what marks the end of the working day, the start of the evening, and the loosening of the shoulders. A drink is never just a drink: it's a social signal. It says, “I'm off duty now; I trust you enough to let my guard down.”

The CEO of drinks giant Heineken, a man called Dolf van den Brink, agrees. Van den Brink told the FT last weekend that beer's role in bringing people together was “important to make part of the public debate” in this “time of loneliness and a mental health epidemic”. Cynics might note that's exactly the sort of thing CEOs of Dutch brewers say when they've been told that fewer people are drinking beer than they used to, but I'm sure he stands by his point.

The younger generation has turned away from alcohol in record numbers. Nearly half of 18- to 24-year-olds now choose no- or low-alcohol drinks, double the figure from 2018. This is often presented as progress – a victory for wellness and mindfulness – but I wonder if it's also a symptom of something sadder. The rise of sobriety has coincided almost perfectly with the rise of loneliness.