Abstaining from alcohol does not after all increase your risk of dying early,
compared with moderate drinkers. A team led by Kaye Fillmore of the University
of California, San Francisco, reanalysed previous research, separating reformed
drinkers from lifelong teetotallers—a shortcoming of many studies. The
researchers also allowed for other factors that might affect mortality, such as
smoking, income and depression. “When these factors are statistically accounted
for, abstainers of either type are not at higher risk,” says Fillmore. The first
of three papers from the study appears in the latest Addiction(vol 93,
p 183).
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features

Comment
Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World is still supremely relevant today
Culture

Life
Complex life on Earth may last 500 million years longer than expected
News

Earth
What lies beneath? The new era of Earth imaging
Advertising

Humans
Ancient monument marked summer solstice centuries before Stonehenge
News
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
A quantum state that lasts forever may finally be within our grasp
2
Our brains have their first thoughts surprisingly early in life
3
Cervical cancer deaths have plummeted thanks to HPV vaccine
4
Who finds dad jokes funniest? The answer might not astonish you
5
Fully autonomous drones have killed human soldiers for the first time
6
The secrets to keeping your brain sharp in old age
7
Has the answer to life's origins been hiding in our cells all along?
8
Autism may have two distinct subtypes that vary by brain activity
9
Technology is changing our perspective on nature – at every scale
10
Complex life on Earth may last 500 million years longer than expected