Re 1: the "average" may not matter all that much. The study's suggested 2 drinks per day is the same as the American average, which according to some web source

Re 1: the "average" may not matter all that much. The study's suggested 2 drinks per day is the same as the American average, which according to some web sources I found is 1.94 drinks per day (among adults). [1] The difference may be that the variance is not that high. 16% of Americans binge drink [2], which drags the average up - a significant plurality doesn't drink at all. The truth in this case could be consistency. No binge drinkers, a consistent level of wine purchasing indicating a high level of wealth in the community. [1] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/12/28/how-many-alcoholic-drinks-too-many-per-week/822604001/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/12/28/ho... [2] https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/data-stats.htm https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/data-stats.htm