> There's a pretty clear theory of alcohol as social lubricant, and people with more active social lives having better mental health and slower cognitive declin

> There's a pretty clear theory of alcohol as social lubricant, and people with more active social lives having better mental health and slower cognitive decline in old age. Sure, but you can have an active social life without consuming alcohol and have the benefits of not drinking AND having an active social life. > There's also a surprisingly strong link between alcohol use and exercise, that persists even when you look at "heavy drinking levels" [0]. Couldn't this be the same fallacy? i.e. the people who don't drink self-exclude from drinking AND exercise because they're sick or injured or whatever? Or could it be that people who are more active in general just do both things more?