What are the long-term effects of alcohol?

The outgoing U.S. Surgeon General made headlines when he called for a cancer warning on alcoholic beverages. But cancer is not the only risk you run with a regular after-work drink.

Alcohol has long been thought "to be associated with some health benefits," said CNN. But a new report from Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy "aims to dispel any notion that alcohol is harmless." Drinking is a "well-established, preventable cause of cancer" that causes up to 20,000 deaths a year, Murthy said. That makes it the third-leading cause of preventable cancer. Yet, Murthy added, a "majority of Americans are unaware of this risk." It is time to be aware of the risks, said Dr. Brian P. Lee, a liver specialist at University of Southern California. "Really, there's no benefit" even to light drinking, he said.

Researchers have found a "wide range of diseases" connected to alcohol use, Todd Neff said at UCHealth. Those conditions include "polyneuropathy, alcoholic psychosis, alcohol myopathy, alcohol-induced acute pancreatitis" and other issues. Alcohol use also raises the risks of heart disease and is associated with slower recovery from wounds and broken bones. What about those studies suggesting a glass of wine now and again could be helpful? The medical community was "always a little bit skeptical," said Dr. Corey Lyon, a family physician at UCHealth.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Does age make a difference?

Alcohol is "so dangerous” to the brains of young adults, David Robson said at BBC News. Alcohol has a profound effect on young people "even after they have passed the legal minimum drinking age." Young people metabolize alcohol differently: A "relatively large part" of what they drink "ends up in the brains of young people," said Ruud Roodbeen, a postdoctoral researcher at Maastricht University. That can have long-term effects, because young brains go through a continual "complex rewiring that does not end until at least the age of 25," said the BBC.

So it is safer to drink when you're older, right? Maybe not. People in their 60s and 70s may notice their after-dinner drink "seems to hit them a bit harder than it did in their younger years," said The Washington Post. Older folks usually see a drop in alcohol tolerance, thanks to a "decrease in lean muscle and an increase in body fat," which in turn makes them more susceptible to falls and car crashes. Older people find their brains are also changing. As that happens, "the impact of alcohol becomes bigger," said Aaron White of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Are there any upsides?

It is difficult for scientists to identify many benefits. Drinking "provides calories, but no other nutrients," researcher Carrie Daniel-MacDougall said to The M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. But there are a number of health benefits to giving up alcohol. Doing so can even make you look better. Abstaining from drinking could "transform your skin," said Vogue. Drinking "dehydrates and inflames" the skin. Giving it up can help you maintain a youthful glow, said nutritionist Jairo Rodriguez. "If you want to look older," he said, "go ahead and drink!"