Originally Posted by merlinextraligh

The one you happened to cherry pick shows 2 years added life for moderate drinking, up to 4 drinks per day. I'll sign up for that program.

I'm not arguing that it's a good idea to drink heavily. I am arguing there are positive ways to use alcohol, and thus alcohol per se is not evil. Simply because there are also harmful inappropriate uses does not make the substance evil.




Yes. Three of the studies in post 60 clearly show that the net positive health effect of moderate consumption more than trumps the public health negatives of abuse.

Alcohol prevents more deaths than its abuse causes in the United Kingdom, according to research from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.28
•Scientists at the University of London concluded that light and moderate drinking saves more lives in England and Wales than are lost through the abuse of alcohol. If everyone abstained from alcohol, death rates would be significantly higher.29
•The Cancer Council of New South Wales concludes that "If the net effect of total alcohol consumption on Australian society is considered, there is a net saving of lives due to the protective effect of low levels of consumption on cardiovascular disease

Add in the hedonic pleasure from alcohol, the social lubricant, etc. and the net effect of alcohol is a positive, admittedly with negatives, but on balance a positive.

And the vast majority of civilized cultures in the world that embrace alcohol, and reject prohibition would tend to confirm that this is a widely held conclusion.