A new US alcohol study has produced a reaction that is almost as interesting as the study itself.
The Alcohol Intake and Health Study, published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, concluded that alcohol-related health risks begin at low levels of drinking, and that there is no clear protective effect from alcohol even at moderate intake [1]. According to recent coverage in The New York Times, the report was controversial before it was even fully absorbed into public debate. It had been commissioned to inform the new US dietary guidelines, but its findings were not ultimately reflected in specific daily drinking limits [2].
This is not surprising. Alcohol is not just a substance. It is an industry, a ritual, a tax base, a pleasure, a habit, and for many people a normal part of social life. When evidence changes, or becomes less comfortable, the public discussion rarely changes at the same speed.
The study found that at around one drink a day there was already a measurable increase in risk from illnesses and injuries directly attributable to alcohol. At two drinks a day, the risk rose much more sharply [1]. This matters because two drinks a day has often been treated in the US as a reasonable limit for men.
It is important not to become hysterical about this. Risk is not the same as certainty. Driving a car carries risk. Eating certain foods carries risk. Most adult life involves trade-offs. The useful question is not whether alcohol is uniquely wicked. It is whether people are being given honest information about what they are putting into their bodies.
One persistent difficulty is the old idea that alcohol, especially wine, may be good for you. The “glass of wine with dinner” has acquired an almost medicinal glow. Much of this comes from the so-called French Paradox: the observation that French people appeared to have relatively low rates of heart disease despite a diet rich in saturated fat.
The proposed explanation was red wine. But that explanation has never been as convincing as people wanted it to be. If people in southern France had better heart health, it may have had less to do with wine and more to do with the rest of the pattern: more olive oil, fish, fruit, vegetables, legumes, walking, sunlight, less processed food, and drinking with meals rather than in binges.
In an interview with ARENI Global, I made this point rather bluntly: the supposed J-curve showing benefits from moderate alcohol is probably an artefact of living in southern France and having a better diet [3]. Wine drinkers often have other advantages too: more money, better healthcare, better food, and less stress. These things protect health. It is a mistake to give the wine all the credit.
There is also the cancer question. In that same interview, I said that if you were asking about a level of alcohol that does not increase cancer risk, the answer would be about one glass of wine a year [3]. That is not a practical drinking guideline. It is a way of illustrating a toxicological point: for cancer, there is no known completely safe threshold.
This is very different from the comforting idea of a glass of wine every night as a health habit.
None of this means people must abstain. Alcohol has real social value. It can relax people, ease conversation, and make shared meals more enjoyable. Those benefits are not trivial. But they are social benefits, not proof that ethanol is good for the body.
The more honest position is this: drink if you choose to, but do not drink for your health. Drink less often, drink with food, avoid intoxication, and be clear about why you are drinking.
Pleasure is part of life. So is risk. The adult task is to know the difference between the two.
—Professor David Nutt
References
[1] George S. et al., “Alcohol Intake and Health Study: No Protective Effect at Low Levels, With Mortality Increasing to 1 in 25 at 14 Drinks Per Week,” Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 2026.
[2] Roni Caryn Rabin, “The Health Risks of Alcohol Ramp Up with Just 1 Drink Per Day, New Study Says,” The New York Times, 2026.
[3] ARENI Global, “Do Wine and Health Go Together? In Conversation with Prof. David Nutt,” 2022/2025.
[4] Vincent R.M., “Alcohol Policy, Commercial Influence, and the Public Health Costs of Ignoring Evidence: The Case of the Alcohol Intake and Health Study,” Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 2026.
[5] Harvard Health Publishing, “Is red wine actually good for your heart?”, 2018.
