There are no safe levels of alcohol consumption that we know of. If you don't drink, don't start. That prohibitionist policy has more recently come under fire from experts and the College withdrew it from circulation in 1998. Crafted by a committee of sociologists epidemiologists and professions that appear to see their jobs as rooting out all evil in the world, the committee had previously ignored an accumulating body of scientific evidence that shows a definite, demonstrable health benefits associated with moderate drinking in people at low risk of developing a drinking problem. Not only does there exist undeniable proof that two drinks a day for a man and one per day for a woman in some cases reduces the risk of coronary artery disease, reduce the likelihood that a person will develop Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis, late-onset diabetes and hypertension, studies have also shown that people who drink moderately are less likely to suffer from depression and miss fewer days from work than teetotalers.
Many experts now feel it's time to come clean and to share the science with the public.
At a recent annual meeting of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, three doctors presented a resolution in favour of the college publishing the benefits as well as the risks of moderate alcohol consumption. After intense debate, the motion passed 10 to 1. Many health professionals are uncomfortable telling people to drink because it's good for their health. Almost no one says people should drink as much as they can, whenever they can. There are people who should never drink because of a predisposition to addictive behaviour or a pre-existing medical condition that could be made worse by even moderate alcohol consumption.