This is not the first research to throw into question the idea that a daily wine or beer could be good for the heart.
A study from the University Medicine Griefswald, Germany, found that people who currently identify as teetotal are liable to have previously struggled with alcohol of drug problems that distort their risk as current “non-drinkers”.
Professor Dr Ulrich John said: “We found that the majority of the abstainers had alcohol or drug problems, risky alcohol consumption, daily tobacco smoking or fair to poor health in their history: factors that predict early death.”
