In his recent interview with the Daily Mail, Dr Tim Stockwell, a scientist at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, discussed the effects of drinking alcohol on life expectancy. According to the expert, having an average of only two alcoholic drinks per week on a regular basis can shorten one’s life by three to six days. In turn, consuming one drink per day slashes two and a half months off an individual’s life. Finally, regularly consuming an average of 35 drinks per week (about five drinks per day or two bottles of whiskey over seven days) can cut a person’s life short by approximately two years.
Based on findings from research carried out over the past five years or so, as well as his own research which was used to create the Canadian government’s alcohol guidelines, Dr. Stockwell also added that no amount is good for one’s health and longevity. The guidelines, published by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), recommend not exceeding two drinks on any day, as well as reducing one’s alcohol use due to a significant body of evidence showing alcohol’s negative effects on health.
In 2023, a large-scale meta-analysis study led by Dr. Stockwell and published in the journal JAMA Network concluded that no amount of alcohol improves health, while potentially increasing a person’s risk of dying of any cause. Moreover, the results of a study published in 2022 in the journal JAMA Network Open and carried out by scientists from Harvard University scientists demonstrated that alcohol consumption at all levels was significantly associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
“Alcohol is our favorite recreational drug. 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,” said Dr. Stockwell.
In recent years, Dr. Stockwell and his colleague, Dr. Kaye Middleton Fillmore, a sociologist at the University of California, San Francisco, have questioned the validity of numerous studies claiming that alcohol has health benefits. “There are lots of ways these studies give false results that are misinterpreted to mean alcohol is good for you,” added Dr. Stockwell.
