Drink and you may die

The lovely Susanna Reid this morning used her most concerned tone to relay the latest propaganda in the War Against Alcohol, which also features prominently on the BBC News website:
The footer of the article points to previous stories on the same theme, and links to the disinterested experts at Cancer Research UK, the British Medical Journal, and Alcohol Concern.

The evidence is apparently so compelling that the BBC couldn't find any opposing viewpoints. So what have we learned?

Drinking more than a pint of beer a day can substantially increase the risk of some cancers, research shows.

A large Europe-wide study in the British Medical Journal found that one-in-10 of all cancers in men and one-in-33 of all cancers in women are caused by past or current alcohol intake.

This research found that individuals who drank more than two standard drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women were particularly at risk of alcohol-related cancers.

I'm not sure what being a miserable git does to your chance of developing cancer, or your risk of death from other causes, but it does tend to dampen your day-to-day existence.

We're all going to die, most of us at a ripe old age (even those who drink). Quality of life is more important than longevity. Whisky and wine, a their best, are sublime — among life's great pleasures. As long as they enhance, rather than diminish, your experience of the other fine things in life, enjoy them!