Health Stop drinking alcohol now

[Maciamo]

It's not the first time I have mentioned it, but alcohol is a real poison that is underestimated that most people in Western countries. It's the first cause of cancer and it kills far more people than tobacco and homicides combined. I am glad that Kurzgesagt has finally made a video about the subject to sensibilise the population. What I say here has very little impact compare to them with their nearly 25 million subscribers in English (+ tens of millions more in other languages). Of course you do what you want. But better take decisions about one's life in a informed manner.

 

[Power]

what about a glass of red wine sometimes ?

 

[Maciamo]

what about a glass of red wine sometimes ?

The negative effects of alcohol depend on the quantity and frequency. It depends what you call "sometimes". I wouldn't worry too much about one glass once a month, but not one per day.

 

[Power]

The negative effects of alcohol depend on the quantity and frequency. It depends what you call "sometimes". I wouldn't worry too much about one glass once a month, but not one per day.

i thought more like every other day or 2-3 times a week or so

 

[Maciamo]

i thought more like every other day or 2-3 times a week or so

I asked Perplexity AI: "In Europe, what is the difference of life expectancy between someone who regularly drinks alcohol, say three beers per day, and someone who never or almost never drinks alcohol?" Here is the answer.

Based on the best available scientific evidence from European and global studies, here is what the research shows about the difference in life expectancy between someone who regularly drinks moderately or heavily (such as three beers a day) and someone who never or almost never drinks alcohol.

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Key Findings​

• Regular, heavy alcohol consumption—defined as well above current health guidelines—is consistently associated with reduced life expectancy.
• Modest drinking (up to about one beer or glass of wine per day) may have a very small benefit or no significant effect on life expectancy compared to never drinking, but this benefit is easily erased by increased risks of certain cancers and is only observed under very strict limits.
• Never or almost never drinking alcohol is not associated with a reduced life expectancy, and may, in fact, be associated with the longest lifespans at the population level, especially as most people struggle to keep alcohol intake strictly within “safe” or “beneficial” limits.

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Evidence from European and Global Studies​

• A large UK and international analysis (Cambridge University, UK) found that drinking more than about five pints of beer (around five to six standard drinks) per week—which is roughly the equivalent of one beer per day—is associated with shorter life expectancy. Those who have 18 drinks or more per week (about three drinks per day) are linked to a four- to five-year shorter life expectancy compared to those who drink within guidelines
• The same study found that having 10 or more drinks per week was linked with a one- to two-year shorter life expectancy. The detrimental effects become increasingly pronounced with higher alcohol intake
• Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is associated with a dramatic reduction in lifespan—24 to 28 years shorter, according to a Nordic study
• However, this extreme effect applies to people with severe dependence, not occasional or even heavy social drinkers.
• A large Asian cohort study found that regular drinkers (defined as drinking three or more times per week and two or more drinks at a time—similar to your “three beers a day” scenario)—had a 6.86-year shorter life expectancy compared to non-drinkers

. If the drinker also smoked, the reduction was even greater (over 10 years)

Drinking Pattern	Typical Weekly Intake (Beers)	Estimated Life Expectancy Difference vs. Non-Drinkers	Notes
Never/almost never drinks	0	Reference (longest)
Regular drinker	~21 (3 per day)	-4 to -5 years (or -6.9 years in Asian cohort)	Loss increases with higher intake
Alcohol use disorder	Very high	-24 to -28 years	Applies to severe dependence, not social drinking

For one glass of wine every 2 or 3 days, there is not much difference in life expectancy with non-drinkers; possibly +/- <1 year.

 

[Power]

i used to drink heavy on 1-3 days a week when i was younger for many years . because of nightlife / clubbing . i am scared that it will have an after effect on me and that i will become ill i am a hypochondriac and it scares me

 

[Boed Marres]

I was born in 1938 and my sister in 1937.
I drank a glass of beer a day throughout my life and about half a bottle of wine every weekend.
I still walk (short distances) and am still administrator for various projects at FTDNA and YFull.
Last year I published my book about our family history, a Maastricht brewing family (I admit).
I'm feeling great.
My sister can't handle red wine anymore, but she can still handle white.

 

[Degredado]

The way I see it, what you absolutely cannot do is drinking to the point of 1) slashing your life expectancy by decades, i.e., drinking to the point of developing, or being at a high risk of developing, cirrhosis, liver cancer, pancreas damage, brain damage etc. 2) becoming a nuisance and a burden for people around you. On the other hand, if drinking about 3 beers or 3 glasses of wine a week will reduce my life expectancy by 6 months or so while not tangibly reducing my life quality, I think it’s a fair trade off. There’s just too much to stress and worry about, for me not to have 1 or 2 glasses of wine or beers (never together, obviously) on Friday/Saturday nights. And I don’t think meds would be a better alternative at all.

It’s also important to balance that low/moderate drinking with healthy eating and exercising at least 4 times a week. No smoking goes unsaid. If you do all that, you should be ok. Only anecdotal, of course, but the people I know who have lived the most haven’t been the ones with the best “life hygiene”, but the most active ones.

 

[Boed Marres]

My life experience is this:
If you want to live a long and healthy life, don't smoke and don't be in a smoky environment.
Eat a varied diet, focusing on natural products, low in sugar and fat, without added salt, and maintain a BMI below 25, preferably below 24.
Find a job you enjoy. If your work puts pressure on you, quit. It's better to earn a little less than earn a lot and live under stress.
Be interested in the lives of others. What you give, you receive back with interest.
Exercise daily in a way you enjoy, such as walking or cycling, but also read plenty of good books. Yes, that's how you exercise your brain.
Never overdo it. Don't do anything extreme unless it's really fun.
Enjoy every moment. But fate plays a major role; it happens to you.

 

[MOESAN]

I was born in 1938 and my sister in 1937.
I drank a glass of beer a day throughout my life and about half a bottle of wine every weekend.
I still walk (short distances) and am still administrator for various projects at FTDNA and YFull.
Last year I published my book about our family history, a Maastricht brewing family (I admit).
I'm feeling great.
My sister can't handle red wine anymore, but she can still handle white.

One person is not sufficient at a statistical level! (half LOL). That said, drink is not only alcohol: someones with the same quantity of alcohol, can be more dangerous than others. I think a good red wine is the safest at a one per day level.

 

[Boed Marres]

You're absolutely right. You should never use yourself as a reference point, but I also look at my family and friends.
In my working life as an ENT specialist, I've treated many patients with lip, throat, vocal cord, and esophageal cancer.
Their medical history always mentioned smoking, often hard liquor, but rarely just wine and beer without smoking.
The primary site of the cancer usually revealed the type of abuse that had occurred.

 

[Boed Marres]

I haven't mentioned any diseases that can result from excessive alcohol consumption. This leads to obesity, liver disease, pancreatic diseases like diabetes, and worse.

 

[MOESAN]

You're absolutely right. You should never use yourself as a reference point, but I also look at my family and friends.
In my working life as an ENT specialist, I've treated many patients with lip, throat, vocal cord, and esophageal cancer.
Their medical history always mentioned smoking, often hard liquor, but rarely just wine and beer without smoking.
The primary site of the cancer usually revealed the type of abuse that had occurred.

When I spoke of"a red wine per day" I was speaking of a 12cl glass, not a liter (LOL).
I have'nt too much details at hands concerning types of cancer. I think beer is a bit worst than red wine (rose wine is a poison!) for the lever. Concerning cancers, what I saw when I was publican (a part of my professional life) is that drunkers/smokers escaped rarely to letal cancer after their 60 years life, what was not so automatic for drunkers only or smokers only.

 

[Boed Marres]

Everyone has their own knowledge.

 

[Maciamo]

A new meta-analysis was just published analyzing the impact of alcohol on health: Health effects associated with alcohol consumption: a Burden of Proof study

The key finding is that alcohol's health effects are not uniform: there is clear, consistent risk for cancer at any level of consumption, while evidence for other conditions is mixed and depends heavily on how much you drink.

Key Findings by Category

Health Outcome	Finding	Risk Level
All 10 cancers studied	Risk increases progressively with any alcohol intake	Elevated even below 1 drink/day (<10g alcohol)
Pharyngeal cancer	≥105% risk increase at average consumption	Highest cancer risk
Colorectal, esophageal, breast, liver, pancreatic, prostate cancers	22–49% risk increases	Leading contributors to global disease burden
Chronic liver disease/cirrhosis	≥40% risk increase	Harm at any level
Pancreatitis	≥22% risk increase	Clear harm
Type 2 diabetes	~4.5% risk reduction at low-moderate intake	J-shaped curve; risk reverses at higher levels
Alzheimer's/dementia	~6.4% risk reduction at low-moderate intake	Weak evidence; reverses at higher drinking
Ischemic heart disease & stroke	Inconsistent evidence of lower risk at low-moderate intake	Risk increases at higher levels
Atrial fibrillation	≥6% risk increase	Harmful

The table from the study :

Important Context

• The study analyzed 843 cohort/case-control studies through 2023 using IHME's conservative Burden of Proof framework
• No single universal "safe" threshold exists—guidelines should be tailored to populations and consider the full range of outcomes
• High alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk across all 20 health outcomes examined
• The apparent protective effects for some cardiometabolic conditions should not be interpreted as an endorsement of drinking

In Short
For cancer, the evidence is unambiguous—any alcohol increases risk. For other conditions, the relationship is complex and dose-dependent.