Sobering global study finds no ‘safe’ amount of alcohol

Research shows drinking a leading factor in 10% of deaths around world

If you were thinking of meeting up with friends after work for happy hour, think again.

A new global study from the British journal The Lancet found that the safest level of drinking was none. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. The study, published Thursday, analyzed data from the 2016 Global Burden of Disease report to determine levels of alcohol use and its health effects in 195 countries for males and females ages 15 to 49 between 1990 to 2016. Researchers found alcohol use was the leading risk factor for death and disability and accounted for nearly 10 per cent of annual global deaths —about 2.8 million annually.

It accounted for about 3 per cent of deaths in women and 12 per cent of deaths in men.

In the United States, excessive alcohol use led to approximately 88,000 annual deaths between 2006 and 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

The study contradicts other health guidelines —which espouse health benefits associated with consuming up to two drinks a day —saying any benefits were offset by the risks of developing 23 other alcohol-related diseases, specifically cancers, or dying from alcohol-related accidents.

Based on the results, the researchers recommend that public health campaigns revise their message to include alcohol abstinence and focus on reducing overall drinking.