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Rao questioned “How much is it safe to drink? “ and responded “Department of Health added daily drinking guidelines of 3-4 units for men and 2-3 for women.”(1) This misconception deserves comment.
First, there is no guideline recommending drinking “n” units of alcohol! Guidelines warn against alcohol use and recommend to drink as little as possible, if one chooses to drink. Indeed: a) alcohol causes a dose related increase in prevalence of oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, breast cancers, beginning at the 1-2 drink/day level;(2) b) the “French paradox”, from studies sponsored and publicized by the alcohol lobby, is not observed when avoiding selection bias.(3,4)
Second, lay people are even more confused by guidelines than Rao. One third of Health eHeart participants believed alcohol to be heart healthy and drank substantially more alcohol than the others.(5)
The American College of Cardiology wisely concluded about alcohol: “as Saint Augustine put it, is that “complete abstinence is easier than perfect moderation.””(https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/articles/2015/01/05/13/06/alcoh...) Indeed, who can expect moderate use with an addictive substance, apart from the politicians who support the responsibility deal.(6) The alcohol industry transformed an addictive carcinogen into a healthy lifestyle choice. The UK Office for National Statistics must provide the real data of the alcohol related burden.(7)
1 Rao RT. Guidelines on safe alcohol drinking are probably about right. BMJ 2015;351:h5082.
2 Rehm J, Shield K: Alcohol consumption. Stewart BW, Wild CB, eds. World Cancer Report 2014. Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2014.
3. Roehr B. Cardiovascular researcher fabricated data in studies of red wine. BMJ 2012; 344: e406.
4 Holmes MV, Dale CE, Zuccolo L et al. Association between alcohol and cardiovascular disease: Mendelian randomisation analysis based on individual participant data. BMJ 2014;349:g4164.
5 Whitman IR, Pletcher MJ, Vittinghoff E et al. Perceptions, information sources, and behavior regarding alcohol and heart health. Am J Cardiol. 2015;11:642-6.
6 Limb M.Public health body quits responsibility deal over government's failure to act on tobacco and alcohol. BMJ 2013;347:f4590.
7 Braillon A, Gilmore I, Williams R. Alcohol-related deaths: is misinformation hindering care improvement? Lancet 2015;385:1619-20.
“Safe alcohol drinking” is an oxymoron.
Rao questioned “How much is it safe to drink? “ and responded “Department of Health added daily drinking guidelines of 3-4 units for men and 2-3 for women.”(1) This misconception deserves comment.
First, there is no guideline recommending drinking “n” units of alcohol! Guidelines warn against alcohol use and recommend to drink as little as possible, if one chooses to drink. Indeed: a) alcohol causes a dose related increase in prevalence of oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, breast cancers, beginning at the 1-2 drink/day level;(2) b) the “French paradox”, from studies sponsored and publicized by the alcohol lobby, is not observed when avoiding selection bias.(3,4)
Second, lay people are even more confused by guidelines than Rao. One third of Health eHeart participants believed alcohol to be heart healthy and drank substantially more alcohol than the others.(5)
The American College of Cardiology wisely concluded about alcohol: “as Saint Augustine put it, is that “complete abstinence is easier than perfect moderation.””(https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/articles/2015/01/05/13/06/alcoh...) Indeed, who can expect moderate use with an addictive substance, apart from the politicians who support the responsibility deal.(6) The alcohol industry transformed an addictive carcinogen into a healthy lifestyle choice. The UK Office for National Statistics must provide the real data of the alcohol related burden.(7)
1 Rao RT. Guidelines on safe alcohol drinking are probably about right. BMJ 2015;351:h5082.
2 Rehm J, Shield K: Alcohol consumption. Stewart BW, Wild CB, eds. World Cancer Report 2014. Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2014.
3. Roehr B. Cardiovascular researcher fabricated data in studies of red wine. BMJ 2012; 344: e406.
4 Holmes MV, Dale CE, Zuccolo L et al. Association between alcohol and cardiovascular disease: Mendelian randomisation analysis based on individual participant data. BMJ 2014;349:g4164.
5 Whitman IR, Pletcher MJ, Vittinghoff E et al. Perceptions, information sources, and behavior regarding alcohol and heart health. Am J Cardiol. 2015;11:642-6.
6 Limb M.Public health body quits responsibility deal over government's failure to act on tobacco and alcohol. BMJ 2013;347:f4590.
7 Braillon A, Gilmore I, Williams R. Alcohol-related deaths: is misinformation hindering care improvement? Lancet 2015;385:1619-20.
Competing interests: No competing interests