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> “We cannot talk about a so-called safe level of alcohol use. It doesn’t matter how much you drink – the risk to the drinker’s health starts from the first dro

> “We cannot talk about a so-called safe level of alcohol use. It doesn’t matter how much you drink – the risk to the drinker’s health starts from the first drop of any alcoholic beverage. The only thing that we can say for sure is that the more you drink, the more harmful it is – or, in other words, the less you drink, the safer it is,” explains Dr Carina Ferreira-Borges, acting Unit Lead for Noncommunicable Disease Management and Regional Advisor for Alcohol and Illicit Drugs in the WHO Regional Office for Europe. I think that it is explicitly pushing back on that very concept.

zabzonk 4y ago
of course, this "expert" has no self-interest for pushing this kind of stuff?
- frereubu 4y ago
  You’d get more traction for this kind of comment if you’d taken the time to check rather than cast vague aspersions. And if you have checked, detail it here.
- barbazoo 4y ago
  What would that self interest be?
  - B8MGHCBekDuRi 4y ago
    publish another paper in two years fully financed. or find another job. what would you chose?
    - barbazoo 4y ago
      Jesus, it's impossible to do research without being accused of being biased, is it.
      - zabzonk 4y ago
        yes, i believe it is - simply don't use your very dubious research to tell others what they should be doing. we don't have these problems in astronomy, for example
      - B8MGHCBekDuRi 4y ago
        It is entirely possible. But "research" as this paper here are mostly useless. They are good for nothing. It's like researching the fact that "there is no amount of soap that can be considered harmless for the environment". Yes, we know, and now that everyone knows that we all know, what about "we don't care and we'll keep using soap responsibly"? p.s.: replace "soap" with "human activity" and the paradox will probably be more evident.
        rileymat2 4y ago
        Hold on, there is a lot of popular wisdom that thinks that small amounts of alcohol is either harmless or beneficial. Solid research on that topic absolutely is valuable. Everyone absolutely does not know that small amounts are harmful.
        barbazoo 4y ago
        Exactly, I love that this is publicized and hopefully minds will change over the next years and decades like they did with cigarettes.
        B8MGHCBekDuRi 4y ago
        > like they did with cigarettes. THEY ABSOLUTELY ARE NOT THE SAME THING! Animals enjoy alcohol too, it's a beverage, it's a natural substance, there's no way that alcohol it's gonna be like cigarettes! Hotdogs are bad for your health, do you think hotdogs and cigarettes are the same thing? Do you really believe that alcohol is a modern addiction, like tobacco industry? Have you ever heard that Christians drink wine because it's the blood of Jesus Christ? (who turned the water into wine BTW!) Do you know that radical Islam prohibits alcohol because it can induce a loss of self-control? Do you believe that radical Islam is the way to go for the future? I really don't. Alcohol is rooted in our ancestry, it's part of who we are, stop blaming substances, this is truly a modern take: it's the never ending bullshit of the war on drugs that started with prohibionism, it's the USA that promote the puritan way of life, while destroying the planet more than everybody else combined and indulging in the worst possible lifestyle (eating garbage, drinking like there's no tomorrow, working to death, healthcare considered a luxury etc.), it's the same old story of Americans not understanding that their problems are absolutely not everyone's problems The oldest verifiable brewery has been found in a prehistoric burial site in a cave near Haifa in modern-day Israel. Researchers have found residue of 13,000-year-old beer that they think might have been used for ritual feasts to honor the dead Those who believe alcohol is a fad are simply delusional.
RandomLensman 4y ago
Why is alcohol only dangerous in alcoholic beverages? Fruit juice (they real stuff) also contains small amounts of alcohol, for example.
- rileymat2 4y ago
  That is an excellent question, perhaps the benefits of those fruit juices outweigh the small amounts of harm a small amount of alcohol may create. If was to get my random opinion without expertise, I would guess that sugar is the dominating factor as to whether fruit juice is healthy combined with your typical non-juice sugar consumption or not; given you are not deficient in some key nutrient. But to clarify, I was just quoting the article in response to the idea that the dose is the issue. I am a software developer without any expertise in the issue.
  - RandomLensman 4y ago
    Sorry, yes, this was meant to address your quote - should have made that clear.

zabzonk 4y ago

of course, this "expert" has no self-interest for pushing this kind of stuff?

frereubu 4y ago
You’d get more traction for this kind of comment if you’d taken the time to check rather than cast vague aspersions. And if you have checked, detail it here.
barbazoo 4y ago
What would that self interest be?
- B8MGHCBekDuRi 4y ago
  publish another paper in two years fully financed. or find another job. what would you chose?
  - barbazoo 4y ago
    Jesus, it's impossible to do research without being accused of being biased, is it.
    - zabzonk 4y ago
      yes, i believe it is - simply don't use your very dubious research to tell others what they should be doing. we don't have these problems in astronomy, for example
    - B8MGHCBekDuRi 4y ago
      It is entirely possible. But "research" as this paper here are mostly useless. They are good for nothing. It's like researching the fact that "there is no amount of soap that can be considered harmless for the environment". Yes, we know, and now that everyone knows that we all know, what about "we don't care and we'll keep using soap responsibly"? p.s.: replace "soap" with "human activity" and the paradox will probably be more evident.
      - rileymat2 4y ago
        Hold on, there is a lot of popular wisdom that thinks that small amounts of alcohol is either harmless or beneficial. Solid research on that topic absolutely is valuable. Everyone absolutely does not know that small amounts are harmful.
        barbazoo 4y ago
        Exactly, I love that this is publicized and hopefully minds will change over the next years and decades like they did with cigarettes.
        B8MGHCBekDuRi 4y ago
        > like they did with cigarettes. THEY ABSOLUTELY ARE NOT THE SAME THING! Animals enjoy alcohol too, it's a beverage, it's a natural substance, there's no way that alcohol it's gonna be like cigarettes! Hotdogs are bad for your health, do you think hotdogs and cigarettes are the same thing? Do you really believe that alcohol is a modern addiction, like tobacco industry? Have you ever heard that Christians drink wine because it's the blood of Jesus Christ? (who turned the water into wine BTW!) Do you know that radical Islam prohibits alcohol because it can induce a loss of self-control? Do you believe that radical Islam is the way to go for the future? I really don't. Alcohol is rooted in our ancestry, it's part of who we are, stop blaming substances, this is truly a modern take: it's the never ending bullshit of the war on drugs that started with prohibionism, it's the USA that promote the puritan way of life, while destroying the planet more than everybody else combined and indulging in the worst possible lifestyle (eating garbage, drinking like there's no tomorrow, working to death, healthcare considered a luxury etc.), it's the same old story of Americans not understanding that their problems are absolutely not everyone's problems The oldest verifiable brewery has been found in a prehistoric burial site in a cave near Haifa in modern-day Israel. Researchers have found residue of 13,000-year-old beer that they think might have been used for ritual feasts to honor the dead Those who believe alcohol is a fad are simply delusional.

RandomLensman 4y ago

Why is alcohol only dangerous in alcoholic beverages? Fruit juice (they real stuff) also contains small amounts of alcohol, for example.

rileymat2 4y ago
That is an excellent question, perhaps the benefits of those fruit juices outweigh the small amounts of harm a small amount of alcohol may create. If was to get my random opinion without expertise, I would guess that sugar is the dominating factor as to whether fruit juice is healthy combined with your typical non-juice sugar consumption or not; given you are not deficient in some key nutrient. But to clarify, I was just quoting the article in response to the idea that the dose is the issue. I am a software developer without any expertise in the issue.
- RandomLensman 4y ago
  Sorry, yes, this was meant to address your quote - should have made that clear.