Drinking one alcoholic beverage a day can reduce the consumer’s life expectancy by two-and-a-half months, according to new research by an expert on substance use.
Tim Stockwell, a scientist at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, explained to the Daily Mail how alcohol consumption can reduce drinkers’ life expectancies. While one drink can lower life expectancy by two-and-a-half months, five decreases life expectancy by about two years, and two alcoholic beverages per week can cut consumers’ lives by about six days.
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“Alcohol is our favorite recreational drug,” he told the outlet. “We use it for pleasure and relaxation, and the last thing we want to hear is that it causes any harm … it’s comforting to think that drinking is good for our health, but, unfortunately, it’s based on poor science.”
Some research over the years has indicated that consuming alcohol is good for one’s health, but Stockwell doesn’t believe there’s much stock in that theory.
In reference to analyses suggesting non-drinkers are inclined to suffer a host of illnesses drinkers avoid, Stockwell told the Daily Mail it’s likely because the aforementioned studies came from surveys of former alcohol users.
“These abstainers are often older people who gave up alcohol because their health was bad,” the analyst said. “Being able to drink is a sign you are still healthy, not the cause of being in good health. … There are lots of ways these studies give false results that are misinterpreted to mean alcohol is good for you.”
Alcohol consumption is becoming an increasingly significant problem in American culture, so much so that even the White House is concerned — particularly when it comes to the uptick in the number of women who are exhibiting problematic drinking behaviors.
Recently released data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show deaths from excessive drinking among women are climbing at a much higher rate than among men. In fact, one study published in February is estimating women will account for roughly half of alcohol-linked liver disease costs in the U.S. by 2040.
As brands have shifted to marketing alcohol toward women — and with social drinking already being a major part of Western culture — news about concerns regarding alcohol aren’t necessarily welcome.
“This is a touchy topic,” Rachel Sayko Adams, a research associate professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, told the Louisiana Illuminator, adding, “There is no safe level of alcohol use. … That’s, like, new information that people didn’t want to know.”
From a spiritual perspective, while Christians hold differing views on alcohol consumption, it’s not a black-and-white issue. Scripture makes it abundantly clear drunkenness is a sin, but it doesn’t say drinking altogether is sinful. That, though, doesn’t mean believers shouldn’t seriously consider whether to consume alcohol, as CBN’s founder, the late Pat Robertson, explained in a 2022 article.
One megachurch pastor in Hendersonville, Tennessee, Robby Gallaty of Long Hollow Church, made the case during a sermon last year that, while drinking alcohol is permissible for the believer, it is unwise.
Every Christian, he said, has to ask him or herself, “Is it wise for a Christian to drink?” In response, Gallaty said, “The answer is, according to [the apostle] Paul, in many situations and circumstances at different stages of life, it’s not.”
You can read a full breakdown of his thoughts — and watch his sermon on the topic — here.
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