Why is the first beer the most critical choice?
Why isn’t the last beer the most critical one, for example?
Without the first beer there is no last beer.
This.
In a healthy society there would be no need for intoxicants with so severe harms (BBC list for substances by harm is a good reference) and thus no exposure for a addictive substance.
Now the norm decides that, almost without exceptions, we must all be exposed.
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And the substance abuse is a progressive lying disease so once we figure out "this has gone too far" the threshold for abuse has been crossed a long time ago in most cases.
First the close ones see the problem and the individual in question is the last to see it. Thus a lying disease.
When the train hits you, it isn’t the caboose that kills you.