Consumption of alcohol is never safe: Brit study

Alcohol consumption is never safe, as it contributes to global death and disability, a Lancet Medical Journal study shows.

In 2016, researchers found alcohol use led to 2.8 million deaths and was the seventh leading cause of premature death globally for people aged 15 to 49.

Researchers collected data from 28 million people, and risk estimates across 592 studies.

“Small reductions in health-related harms at low levels of alcohol intake are outweighed by the increased risk of other health-related harms, including cancer,” the study published Thursday concluded.

Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the research team found the overall view of alcohol health benefits needs to be reconsidered, as well as a “refocusing on efforts to lower overall population-level consumption.

“By evaluating all associated relative risks for alcohol use, we found that consuming zero standard drinks daily minimizes the overall risk to health,” the team said.

They found the most effective way to lessen the dangers of alcohol consumption would be through taxation or price adjustments.

But the Distilled Spirits Council, the trade association representing leading distillers in America, believes raising taxes “will only exacerbate dangerous illicit alcohol consumption and will do nothing to deter alcohol abuse.”

The council recalled a study in the American Heart Association Journal Circulation that discovered “moderate alcohol consumption is one of ‘five low-risk lifestylerelated factors’ that could help people live longer. Those who consumed alcohol in moderation had a lower risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease deaths than those who did not drink.”

In response to the researchers’ push for global sobriety, the council suggests addressing alcohol abuse country by country, “taking into account the culture, individual alcohol consumption patterns and the marketplace.”