Cancer And now for some really bad news. Despite all the 'possible' health benefits from alcohol, scientists demonstrated a model for how alcohol stimulates tumor growth in the January 15, 2005 issue of Cancer. The American Institute for Cancer Research, Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective demonstrated links between alcohol consumption and an increased risk of cancer in the mouth, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus. If you smoke, the risks are even higher. The International Journal of Cancer linked alcohol consumption to an increased risk of colon cancer. The study even suggested that one drink a day could put you at risk.
Conclusion When you hear a study claiming immortality, check the fine print and look at it with a skeptical eye. So do you stop drinking? Well you should always moderate your alcohol consumption, but the jury is still out. Happier people tend to live longer, and what makes you happier than a very good glass of wine? Raise a glass, toast "to our health", and hope for the best. After all, isn't healthy just a slower way of dying?
On drinking the wines of Bordeaux: The French drink them young, so a Socialist government won’t take them. The English drink them old, so they can show their friends cobwebs and dusty bottles. The American drink them exactly when they are ready, because they don’t know any better.