> But Gordon, we have evidence in the form of a study which > you've agreed is everything one would want vis a vis > scientific rigor. We have *one* study that disagrees with many other studies, and then only slightly. The Bristol study upon which you rely solely, ignoring all other studies, shows no negative health consequences from moderate drinking. Moreoever we have studies such as the one mentioned in the article I posted here (which you ignored) which actually point to a genetic basis for the health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption. This gives a theoretical underpinning to the epidemiological results of the majority of studies which show benefits from moderate drinking. Unlike the Bristol conjecture that ill people don't drink, for which there is no evidence, there is real empirical evidence that moderate alcohol consumption leads to lower risk of heart disease and increased life expectancy, and that this effect is determined by genes. -gts