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Alcohol has long been seen as a social lubricant for thousands of years in Japan, where business deals and difficult issues are discussed over bottles of beer and sake.

It is believed that drinking alcohol creates a more relaxed environment for such discussions.

This is such an odd bit of “cultural context” to include in the article. Alcohol is a social lubricant in basically every culture that doesn’t outright forbid it.

Interestingly, the journal editors have released an expression of concern earlier this year for this article and others by the same author.

SAGE Publishing has been made aware of scientific concerns regarding the work of Dr. Nicholas Guéguen. Multiple concerns have been raised regarding the integrity of the research including but not limited to concerns around data fidelity, replicability of findings, and ethical consent and oversight for studies involving human participants. SAGE Publishing’s Research Integrity Team, in cooperation with this journal's editors, are currently conducting an investigation into these articles.

This expression of concern will remain in place until the investigation is completed and any further needs for appropriate action have been taken.