# Peer Reveiwed Study About Alcohol **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 24, 2018, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213 "2018-08-24T20:19:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/1 "2018-08-24T20:19:01Z")
Dang it. This is depressing news. šŸ†’ I just finished a pleasant meal accompanied by at least three glasses of tasty wine. My guests are probably waiting upon an after-lunch aperitif or two for watching the sunset over the horizon and socializing. Excuse me while I get more ice and fresh glasses. Popcorn is free here as everything else in is the kitchen. > **[No alcohol safe to drink, global study confirms](https://www.bbc.com/news/health-45283401)** > > The researchers say that the health risks of drinking outweigh any possible benefits. > **[Alcohol use and burden for 195 countries and territories, 1990ā€“2016: a...](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31310-2/fulltext)** > > Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for global disease burden and causes substantial > health loss. We found that the risk of all-cause mortality, and of cancers specifically, > rises with increasing levels of consumption, and the level of consumption... ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/2 "2018-08-24T20:26:31Z")
[Moderating] Since this doesnā€™t seem to be about the flavor or other aesthetic qualities of the drinks, Iā€™ll just move it on over to MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/3 "2018-08-24T20:43:26Z")
So no summary huh? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/4 "2018-08-24T20:47:45Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > So no summary huh? > [@](#): > > A large new global study published in the Lancet has confirmed previous research which has shown that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. > > The researchers admit moderate drinking may protect against heart disease but found that the risk of cancer and other diseases outweighs these protections. Ghod, I hate science. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/5 "2018-08-24T21:27:37Z")
Eh, itā€™ll come back around. _\_ ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/6 "2018-08-24T21:43:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > [Moderating] > > Since this doesnā€™t seem to be about the flavor or other aesthetic qualities of the drinks, Iā€™ll just move it on over to MPSIMS. Close but I think you just missed the markā€¦ šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/7 "2018-08-24T21:47:38Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Close but I think you just missed the markā€¦ šŸ˜‰ He said ā€œaestheticā€, not ā€œanestheticā€. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/8 "2018-08-24T22:23:11Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > He said ā€œaestheticā€, not ā€œanestheticā€. I meant the thread didnā€™t quite make it into MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/9 "2018-08-24T22:27:53Z")
Good perspective at the end: > [@Prof David Spiegelhalter](#): > > Given the pleasure presumably associated with moderate drinking, claiming there is no ā€˜safeā€™ level does not seem an argument for abstention. > > There is no safe level of driving, but the government does not recommend that people avoid driving. > > Come to think of it, there is no safe level of living, but nobody would recommend abstention. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/10 "2018-08-24T23:07:34Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > [Moderating] > > Since this doesnā€™t seem to be about the flavor or other aesthetic qualities of the drinks, Iā€™ll just move it on over to MPSIMS. Iā€™ll punt it over there. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/11 "2018-08-24T23:17:09Z")
Meh. Iā€™ve had a good run. Well, walk. Maybe vaguely sauntering. (Pours a refill on his Wild Turkey) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/12 "2018-08-25T00:49:19Z")
I was so upset over this news that I poured myself a big snifter of cognac. And I hadnā€™t even finished my dinner wine, only because I hadnā€™t noticed that I had some left in the glass when I brought in the cognac, though I did finish my gin and tonics before dinner. I guess Iā€™ll finish the wine after the cognac. And then another snifter of cognac. After that I might read the article, and maybe have a Drambuie or something before bed. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/13 "2018-08-25T00:51:57Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Iā€™ll punt it over there. Itā€™s all fun and games until **Colibri** shows up. (For those lacking context, Chronos moved it into Thread Games.) ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/14 "2018-08-25T00:59:32Z")
Iā€™m still gonna drink. In fact Iā€™m going to go drink right now. So there! Iā€™m thinking a screwdriverā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/15 "2018-08-25T04:07:06Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Iā€™m still gonna drink. In fact Iā€™m going to go drink right now. So there! > > Iā€™m thinking a screwdriverā€¦ Me? I am going to have a Bloody Mary and watch the sunrise in the east. And call a cab to take me home. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/16 "2018-08-25T04:34:28Z")
> [@Cabin\_Fever](#): > > Me? I am going to have a Bloody Mary and watch the sunrise in the east. And call a cab to take me home. The other day I had four Bloody Marys and watched the sunrise in the west. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/17 "2018-08-25T06:18:34Z")
> [@](#): > > A large new global study published in the Lancet has confirmed previous research which has shown that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. > > The researchers admit moderate drinking may protect against heart disease but found that the risk of cancer and other diseases outweighs these protections. And yet the human race has somehow survived the last 12,000 yearsā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/18 "2018-08-25T09:35:22Z")
It is the nature of surveys that, if you donā€™t like the conclusions of this one, just wait for the next one to come along. The one before this one (the one that set the UK weekly limit at 14 units) was based on a methodology of self reporting drinking levels. i.e. it knew that people vastly under-reported what they drank but regardless the units limit was calculated on that under-reported figure and no adjustment was made. When questioned on this by the BBC some years ago, it was put to the authors that if you are saying 14 units was the safe limit based on figures that you know are too low then must it not be true to say that the actual number of real drinks a person could have is really higher than that? Though that was logically and inescapably true they could not bring themselves to admit it. Make of that what you will but to me it calls into question any detailed advice they give beyond, Donā€™t drink _too_ much and have some days off. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/19 "2018-08-25T12:18:13Z")
Itā€™s not just a one study says one thing and the next study says another. The negative-side official, peer reviewed research is _massive_. There is the occasional ā€œstudyā€ that ā€œprovesā€ a couple of drinks a day is okay or even beneficial. Those get a ton of news for obvious reasons. But they always seem to have problems. There was a study saying moderate alcohol was good. People knew the study was flawed right away. The study included recovering alcoholics in the ā€œnon-drinkerā€ group! Once you put those people in the ā€œdrinkerā€ group the numbers came out exactly as you expect. Another one was a meta-study: a study of studies. Easy to manipulate by choosing certain ones and weighting them appropriately. It turned out to be funded by a liquor backed organization. And the authors did not mention this funding in the paper! This is a _big_ no-no. It violated the journalā€™s and the authorā€™s medical school policies. Source of funding _must_ be disclosed to avoid exactly this sort of nonsense. Note that these ā€œpositiveā€ studies get a ton of news. The debunking doesnā€™t. Hmmm. The new study doesnā€™t tell us anything we already didnā€™t know for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213/20 "2018-08-25T12:20:45Z")
And, this is why I quit drinking. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-reveiwed-study-about-alcohol/820213.md?page=2)