The ‘There is no safest limit of drinking,’ says alcohol study

Dr. Gakidou urges that governments need to alter policies so that they emphasize either “lowering people’s levels of alcohol consumption or abstaining entirely.”

In countries such as the U.S., public health information on alcohol and health tends to focus either on the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption or on keeping drinking to moderate levels.

There is often little mention of the fact that no consumption at all is the safest. For instance, the fact sheet on alcohol and health from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) starts with “[d]rinking too much can harm your health.”

It then cites statistics about the effects of excessive drinking. During 2006–2010, excessive alcohol consumption in the U.S. resulted in around 88,000 deaths per year, cutting the lifespan of those who died by an average of 30 years. Among adults aged 20–64 years, it led to 1 in 10 deaths.

The 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans advice on alcohol use opens with “[i]f alcohol is consumed, it should be in moderation” and then goes on to define moderate drinking as no more than two drinks per day for men and no more than one for women.

That being said, there is mention that the guidelines do “not recommend that individuals who do not drink alcohol start drinking for any reason.”

“We now understand,” says Richard C. Horton, who is editor-in-chief of The Lancet, “that alcohol is one of the major causes of death in the world today.”

“We need to act urgently to prevent these millions of deaths,” he adds.

“The myth that one or two drinks a day are good for you is just that — a myth. This study shatters that myth.”