I'm not so sure if I agree with what you're saying. I have few vices. I cook everything from scratch, don't smoke, rarely eat red meat and have a very nutritious diet. My main vices are a lack of exercise and alcohol (as I like to make cocktails, learn new ones and experiment I probably drink more of them than most).
Exercising more would probably give me more enjoyment, but at the opportunity cost of what I'm doing instead. Cutting out alcohol will no doubt extend my life (after all, alcohol is a fairly poisonous chemical to start off with) cutting it out would reduce the net pleasure I get not just from drinking cocktails, but introducing new ones to others and watching the pleasure they get from experiencing them.
You can't consistently make great cocktails if you're teetotal anymore than you can consistently cook incredible meat dishes if you're vegetarian as there's no direct feedback mechanism.
I'm not saying that the net pleasure doesn't go down in all cases, but there are definitely some. I'm sure giving up mountain climbing can extend life, but there's a drop in pleasure for a mountain climber too.
Exercising more would probably give me more enjoyment, but at the opportunity cost of what I'm doing instead. Cutting out alcohol will no doubt extend my life (after all, alcohol is a fairly poisonous chemical to start off with) cutting it out would reduce the net pleasure I get not just from drinking cocktails, but introducing new ones to others and watching the pleasure they get from experiencing them.
You can't consistently make great cocktails if you're teetotal anymore than you can consistently cook incredible meat dishes if you're vegetarian as there's no direct feedback mechanism.
I'm not saying that the net pleasure doesn't go down in all cases, but there are definitely some. I'm sure giving up mountain climbing can extend life, but there's a drop in pleasure for a mountain climber too.