Alcohol, the cold, hard facts. Health-giving effects of moderate alcohol consumption”
Jan Snel Professor at the University of Rotterdam
Gorcum Publishers, Netherlands

Excerpt 1: “Most of us could insist on the beneficial effects of moderate alcohol consumption, enjoying a glass of beer or wine in the company of friends. Learning sane and sensible drinking needs good teachers. Young adults like to experiment; they want to push and test the limits. Pushing to extremes, the parents’ dread, wanes with increasing age. Parents must show their children how to enjoy alcohol, how to appreciate alcohol. Try to prohibit alcohol, for fear of abuse, and all you do is offer your children the self-defeating fascination of the forbidden fruit.”

Excerpt 2: “A daily “happy hour” therefore has a significant psychological impact. Those of us who drink alcohol in moderation are usually more resilient as regards the slings and arrows. We “kvetch” less. We are less disposed to fling ourselves off high places. We enjoy a more rewarding, and a more fulfilled social life than do dry-as-dust non-drinkers or, indeed, excessive drinkers.”

Newsletter August / September 2003