I spent a month in Germany on an exchange program just after graduation from high school. I was quite suprised when we'd go to the pub to meet friends and the Germans would quite often order a Coke. They'd been drinking beer since they were 12 or so, and so it had none of the taboo allure that it had for me as an American. I think there's a lot to be said for how puritanical notions just drive more dysfunction rather than preventing it.