Here's some "sobering" news: Every glass of alcohol you drink over the scientifically recommended five drinks per week can shorten your life by 30 minutes. A study published this week in The Lancet finds that people who consume more than five units of alcohol per week experience higher risk of heart failure, stroke and fatal aneurysm.
Among those over 40, the risks are as bad as they are for those who smoke. "A 40-year-old drinking four units a day above the guidelines [the equivalent of drinking three glasses of wine in a night] has roughly two years’ lower life expectancy, which is around a 20th of their remaining life," University of Cambridge professor David Spiegelhalter told The Guardian. "This works out at about an hour per day, [which is] about the same as a cigarette...Of course, it’s up to individuals whether they think this is worthwhile."
Source: TheGuardian