“More Americans than at any time in the past two decades now say drinking alcohol [even in moderation] is bad for one’s health,” report the opinion johnnies at Gallup, who have been asking since 2001 whether alcohol is detrimental. More than a third think drink, even in moderation, is unhealthy. That’s a significant increase over 20 years ago. The growing disdain for drink, we are told, is being designated-driven by young adults. A more salubrious alternative, the young prohibitionists tell Gallup, is marijuana.

In some ways, I have to agree that even one drink can be damaging — dramatically so. My wife and I recently went to the swanky new roof-terrace bar at the Kennedy Center. My significant other ordered an Aperol spritz, a drink normally treated as so inexpensive to make — Aperol, prosecco, club soda, and ice in a goblet — that restaurants in Italy seem to serve the stuff as promiscuously as Mexican restaurants make with the chips and salsa. But when the barman got to the fizzy wine part of the drink, he did not pour prosecco. He asked my wife whether she would like the drink made with “cava” or “brut.” Not particularly liking cava, and not quite thinking through the consequence of the choice, she said, “Brut.” When it was time to pay, we found that the cocktail had been made with Moet-Chandon brut champagne, and it cost $35. Clearly, a single drink can do some damage.