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Reprinted from
Adventist Review. All rights reserved.
By Peter
N. Landless
When is the Seventh-day Adventist Church going to change its position on
alcohol use?”
This question was asked of me during one of my recent itineraries when I
had the privilege of speaking at an alcohol symposium, following an
Adventist health professionals conference. I was stunned!
Studies abound that tout numerous benefits of alcohol consumption on heart
health, and many people now are questioning the church’s position of total
abstinence when it comes to drinking alcohol. But the simple answer is
that the Seventh-day Adventist Church cannot change its stance, because
it’s not merely an issue of physical health. So, how should practicing,
health-conscious Adventists respond?
As a physician I understand the dilemma, and will seek to clarify the
issue in order to help people make a well-informed, evidence-based, and,
most important, spiritually sound decision.
We should avoid all things harmful, including—perhaps especially—those
that cloud the mind and may impair our sensitivity to the prompting of the
Holy Spirit, jeopardizing our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.
Although the consumption of alcohol has many significant health risks, the
prime reason to abstain remains a spiritually moral one.
Alcohol Consumption and Global Health
Alcohol consumption varies widely between countries, depending on cultural
traditions. A disparity between developed and emerging economies also
exists. Alcohol, like tobacco, is being exported to developing countries,
adding huge burdens to already inadequate health systems. According to the
“Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health,” released by the World Health
Organization (WHO) in Geneva, February 2011:1
- Approximately 2.5 million people die from alcohol-related causes
each year;
- Fifty-five percent of adults have consumed it;
- Four percent of all deaths are related to alcohol through injuries,
cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and liver cirrhosis;
- Globally, 6.2 percent of male deaths are related to alcohol, and 1.1
percent of female deaths;
- One in five men in the Russian Federation and neighboring countries
dies from alcohol-related causes.
 The
pattern of alcohol consumption is changing, as mentioned previously.
Figures for 2001-2005 released by the World Health Organization (WHO)2 revealed
that worldwide, 6.13 liters of pure alcohol were consumed per year, per
person, aged 15 years or older. This amount appeared to be stable in the
Americas and the European, Eastern Mediterranean, and Western Pacific
regions; however, marked increases were noted in Africa and Southeast
Asia. Health risk increases even more when binge drinking occurs; in other
words, when people drink to get drunk. Binge drinking may be defined
differently according to the region of the world: in the United States
more than five consecutive drinks for a male and more than four for a
female; in Australia more than four drinks per night (previously, more
than seven drinks per night for men and five for women). Binge drinking is
increasing in many parts of the world, mainly among youth, but all age
groups are affected.3
A recent book on research and public policy states that “alcohol is a risk
factor for a wide range of health conditions and social problems. It
accounts for approximately 4 percent of deaths worldwide and 6 percent of
the global burden of disease, placing it alongside tobacco as one of the
leading preventable causes of death and disability.”4
Alcohol is no ordinary commodity and is dangerous.
Risks of Addiction
Alcohol is a known addictive substance. The susceptibility (or likelihood)
of becoming an alcoholic (euphemistically termed “problem drinker”)
depends on numerous factors. The chance of alcoholism developing over a
lifetime is 13 percent (13 people of every 100 who drink alcohol). If
there is a first-degree relative (father, mother, uncle, aunt,
grandparent) who suffered from alcohol dependence, this percentage
doubles. If experimentation with alcohol begins under the age of 14 years,
the percentage chance of dependence increases to 40 percent-plus.5 This
demonstrates the importance of alcohol education from an early age and
fostering relationships and connectedness with youth. This social support
develops resilience, enabling youth to cope with difficult decisions and
choices despite peer pressure. An additional and vital layer of protection
for young and old is connection to a set of values, such as the principles
of the Bible and walking with the risen Savior.
Alcohol and Cancer
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death globally. An interesting
example of the relationship between drinking alcohol and cancer comes from
the European Union, where cancer is the second-most-common cause of death
and 2.5 million people are diagnosed with cancer each year. It’s estimated
that 10 percent of cancers in men and 3 percent in women can be directly
attributed to alcohol use. It’s further estimated that 30 percent of
cancers in this part of the world could be prevented through healthier
lifestyle choices. The 2010 Eurobarometer Report, however, found that 1 in
5 European citizens do not believe that there’s a connection between
alcohol and cancer; 1 in 10 is totally ignorant of the fact that alcohol
consumption can cause cancer.6 Sadly,
being ignorant does not spare us the consequences.
There is robust evidence linking alcohol as a cause of breast cancer in
women and colon cancer in both men and women. These findings have been
summarized and reported in the World Cancer Research Fund’s comprehensive
reports in 2007 and 2011.7 The
point strongly emphasized in these and many other scientific reports is
that there is no safe limit/dose of alcohol that may be recommended to
avoid its carcinogenic effect. This places the perspective on any
recommendation that alcohol be used for health benefits, even cardiac,
because the associated side effects are real and dangerous.
Alcohol and Society
It is well known that alcohol use is associated (often causally) with
accidents of all kinds: road fatalities, domestic violence, murder, rape,
and other criminal activities. In 2010 Professor David Nutt and
coresearchers published an analysis in the prestigious Lancet medical
journal showing that in the United Kingdom alcohol is more harmful than
heroin and crack cocaine. This is because the researchers focused on the
effect the drugs/toxins had on not only the user but others as well
(family, community, and society). Heroin, crack cocaine, and
methamphetamine were the most harmful drugs to individuals.8
Alcohol is also the leading cause of preventable mental retardation in the
world. This is because alcohol readily crosses the placenta and damages
the developing brain of the unborn baby. Again, there is no safe level of
alcohol consumption during pregnancy.9
Alcohol and Heart Health
For the past 30 years alcohol has been promoted as being “heart healthy”
and protective against coronary artery disease. Much has been written in
the popular and scientific literature on the subject. All the scientific
studies have been retrospective analyses, which makes them subject to what
are known as “confounders.” Confounders are factors that make
interpretation of the results of the data being analyzed more difficult
and also may result in erroneous conclusions. Naimi and others concluded
in 2005 that some or all of the apparent cardiac protective effect of
moderate drinking may be because of these confounders.10 Other
studies have continued this caution and noted that the non drinkers
included in many of the studies had more risk factors for heart disease,
were less well-educated, had less access to health care and insurance, and
were from poorer socioeconomic groups. Some included in the nondrinking
group had been drinkers prior to the studies being done and had stopped
drinking for health reasons.11 A
recent paper by Dr. Boris Hansel adds weight to the view that the real
explanation of positive cardiac outcomes in moderate drinkers is not that
alcohol is protective, but that the average health status and healthful
lifestyle in other behaviors, such as exercise and diet, is better than
that of nondrinkers.12
In summary, taking into account the significant health risks related to
alcohol use, it does not make sense to promote its use for heart health,
especially when there are proven and safe interventions for heart disease
prevention, such as daily exercise and a healthful diet.
Conclusion
We sometimes persist in trawling the shark-infested waters of the definite
evidence showing the dangers of alcohol in search of one sardine’s worth
of positive, healthful evidence in favor of alcohol use. Instead, we are
blessed to have a blueprint that offers protection against the problems
alcohol inevitably brings in its wake: informed choices, exercise, rest,
healthful eating, fresh air and sunshine, pure water (within and without),
trust in God, social support, a good dose of optimism, and, of course,
temperance, which by definition encourages us to dispense entirely with
all things harmful and to use wisely those things that are healthful and
good. Temperance, lived through the enabling power of our gracious Lord
Jesus Christ, serves as a foundation for a Spirit-filled experience that
can celebrate life free from alcohol and its attendant ills.
So should people who don’t drink start to drink alcohol? Based on the
evidence, definitely not! Should those who currently drink alcohol quit?
Based on the same evidence, unequivocally yes!
“You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God
with your body” (1 Cor. 6:19, 20, NIV).
To whom do we belong?
_____________
1 www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/global_alcohol_report/en.
2 www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/global_alcohol_report/msbgsruprofiles.pdf.
3 Ibid.
4 Thomas Babor, Alcohol:
No Ordinary Commodity, second edition (New York: Oxford Press, 2010),
p. 70.
5 Richard K. Ries,
et al., Principles of
Addiction Medicine, fourth edition (Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer,
2009).
6 www.eurocare.org/library/latest_news/alcohol_and_cancer_the_forgotten_link.
7 www.wcrf.org.
8 David Nutt, et
al., “Drug Harms in the UK: A Multicriteria Analysis,” The
Lancet, Nov. 1, 2010.
9 Alcohol: No
Ordinary Commodity, p. 1,393.
10 Timothy S. Naimi,
et al., “Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Confounders Among Nondrinking and
Moderate-Drinking U.S. Adults,” American
Journal of Preventive Medicine, 28, no. 4 (2005) p. 369.
11 Kaye Middleton
Fillmore, et al., “Moderate Alcohol Use and Reduced Mortality Risk:
Systematic Error in Prospective Studies and New Hypotheses,”Addiction
Research and Theory.
12 Boris Hansel, et
al., “Relationship Between Alcohol Intake, Health and Social Studies, and
Cardiovascular Risk Factors in the Urban Paris-Ile-De-France Cohort,” European
Journal of Clinical Nutrition 64:561-568.
______________________
Peter N. Landless, a board-certified nuclear cardiologist, is an associate
director of the General
Conference Health Ministries Department in
Silver Spring, Maryland, United States. |
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