Standard Drinks Equivalence Alcohol and Health Underage Drinking Distilled Spirits Advertising Distilled Spirits Excise Taxes Product Tasting Fact Sheet

There is a growing body of scientific evidence reporting that moderate beverage alcohol consumption may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Although there is a widespread misperception that this potential benefit is only associated with wine consumption, the scientific literature generally reports that this potential benefit is associated with the ethanol (alcohol) in all beverage alcohol products - distilled spirits, beer or wine.

References to a number of scientific articles regarding the reported benefits of moderate consumption of beverage alcohol are listed below to provide you with examples of the scientific literature available on this topic. These articles state that potential cardiovascular benefits are not solely associated with wine consumption but apply to all beverages. We did not author these articles and do not express any opinion on their scientific content. America's distillers do not recommend that consumers drink beverage alcohol for health reasons. Further, it is commonly known that alcohol abuse can cause serious problems, and there is a body of literature, including the articles referenced below, regarding the reported risks of beverage alcohol consumption generally.

I. GOVERNMENT FINDINGS:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/U.S. Department of Agriculture "Current evidence suggests that moderate drinking is associated with a lower risk for coronary heart disease in some individuals." The Dietary Guidelines define a drink as 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits. (pg. 40) Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Fourth Edition, (1995).

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
"There is a considerable body of evidence that lower levels of drinking decrease the risk of death from coronary artery disease (CAD)." Furthermore, NIAAA states, "A standard drink is generally considered to be 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits. Each of these drinks contains roughly the same amount of absolute alcohol -- approximately 0.5 ounce or 12 grams . . . ." (pgs. 1, 2) Moderate Drinking, The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Alcohol Alert, No. 16, (1992).

World Health Organization
"It can be concluded, therefore, that moderate drinking (10-30g of ethanol daily, i.e. 1-3 drinks) provides a moderate protective effect against CVD, as compared with abstention and heavy drinking . . . ." Furthermore, the report states, ". . . . the U-shaped curve has been demonstrated sufficiently often in populations where wine does not account for the major part of the alcohol consumed." (pg. 22) Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: New Areas for Research, World Health Organization Technical Report Series 841, (1994).

II. MEDICAL JOURNALS:

American Journal of Cardiology
"These data demonstrate apparent reductions in risk of MI [myocardial infarction] among light-to-moderate drinkers of different alcoholic beverage types, including wine, beer, and liquor . . . . These data suggest that the ethanol in alcoholic beverages, rather than other constituents, is responsible for reduced risks of MI . . . ." (pg. 55) J. Gaziano, et. al., Type of Alcoholic Beverage and Risk of Myocardial Infarction, 83:52-57, (1999).

American Journal of Epidemiology
"The present study also showed the protective effect of alcohol intake on coronary heart disease among the Japanese, whose consumption of grape wine is minimal. The amount of ethanol was 42.3 percent from beer, 24.9 percent from rice wine, 24.3 percent from whiskey, 8.0 percent from hard liquor, and only 0.5 percent from grape wine. Our results were consistent with those from a recent meta-analysis, showing that all alcoholic drinks were linked with a lower risk of coronary heart disease . . . ." (pg. 64) A. Kitamura, et al., Alcohol Intake and Premature Coronary Heart Disease in Urban Japanese Men, 147(1): 59-65, (1998).

"In this study, both wine-derived and non-wine-derived alcohol were found to be inversely related to coronary artery disease after adjustment for major confounding factors . . . . Hence, our data do not support the hypothesis that wine is superior to other alcoholic beverages in terms of protection against coronary artery disease." (pg. 1092) P. Marques-Vidal, et al., Alcohol Consumption and Myocardial Infarction: A Case-Control Study in France and Northern Ireland, 143:1089-1093, (1996).

"Alcohol consumption increases the level of high density lipoprotein cholesterol, and we have shown that this increase is independent of the type of alcoholic beverage consumed . . . ." (pg. 1099) P. Marques-Vidal, Response to "Alcohol Consumption and Coronary Heart Disease: Good Habits May Be More Important Than Just Good Wine," 143:1099, (1996).

British Medical Journal
"Regular consumption of small amounts of alcohol is associated with lower overall mortality including death from ischemic heart disease in middle aged Chinese men. The type of alcoholic drink does not affect this association . . . . Our data did not show that intake of wine was more beneficial in reducing risk of death than consumption of beer or spirits." (pgs. 18, 22) J. Yuan, et al., Follow Up Study of Moderate Alcohol Intake and Mortality Among Middle Aged Men in Shanghai, China, 314:18-23, (1997).

"The consumption of small and moderate amounts of alcohol reduces mortality from vascular disease by about a third . . . . The beneficial effect is due to the content of ethanol, not to the characteristics of any particular type of drink." (pg. 1664) R. Doll, One for the Heart, 315:1664-1668, (1997).

"Results from observational studies, where alcohol consumption can be linked directly to an individual's risk of coronary heart disease, provide strong evidence that all alcoholic drinks are linked with lower risk." (pg. 731) E. Rimm, et al., Review of Moderate Alcohol Consumption and Reduced Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: Is The Effect Due to Beer, Wine, or Spirits?, 312:731-736, (1996).

Circulation (Journal of the American Heart Association)
"More than a dozen prospective studies have demonstrated a consistent, strong, dose-response relation between increasing alcohol consumption and decreasing incidence of CHD . . . . Consumption of one or two drinks per day is associated with a reduction in risk of approximately 30% to 50%." (pg. 3023) T. Pearson, Alcohol and Heart Disease, 94:3023-3025, (1996).

The Journal of the American Medical Association
In this study, the risk of ischemic stroke was reduced by 50% in moderate drinkers as compared to abstainers. "Moderate consumption - up to 2 drinks of liquor, 2 cans of beer, or 2 glasses of wine per day - was protective with an OR [odds ratio] of 0.5." (pg. 57)

"Some investigators have suggested that certain types of alcoholic beverages, particularly wine, are more protective than others. We investigated whether any differential protective effect by beverage type exists and found that wine, beer, and liquor all had approximately the same effect . . . ." (pg. 58) R. Sacco, et. al, The Protective Effect of Moderate Alcohol Consumption on Ischemic Stroke, 281:53-60, (1999).

"Moderate alcohol consumption (1 or 2 drinks per day) may reduce your risk of coronary heart disease . . . . Moderate alcohol consumption also may lower your risk of stroke . . . . One drink is usually defined as a 12-ounce bottle of beer or wine cooler, a 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits." JAMA Patient Page, Benefits and Dangers of Alcohol, 281:104, (1999).

The New England Journal of Medicine
According to this prospective study of 490,000 people, ". . . . the rates of death from all cardiovascular diseases combined were 30 to 40 percent lower among men (relative risk, 0.7; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.7 to 0.8) and women (relative risk, 0.6; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.6 to 0.7) reporting at least one drink daily than among nondrinkers." Furthermore, " . . . . those who consumed up to one or two drinks of alcohol daily had lower overall mortality rates than nondrinkers." (pgs. 1711, 1712) M. Thun, et al., Alcohol Consumption and Mortality among Middle-Aged and Elderly U.S. Adults, 337:1704-1714 (1997).

For complete copies of the referenced articles, please contact the DISCUS Public Affairs Division at 202-682-8840. For information on the distillers' efforts to combat alcohol abuse please contact The Century Council at (202) 637-0077 or through their website www.centurycouncil.org. The Century Council, a not-for-profit organization funded solely by America's leading distillers, promotes responsible decision-making regarding drinking or non-drinking of beverage alcohol and discourages all forms of irresponsible consumption through education, communications, research and other programs.