Beer is good for you... isn't it?
Alcohol is being portrayed more negatively than it ever has before. But the evidence
suggests that moderate beer consumption could be good for you. Dominic Roskrow
looks into the issue
A couple of years back Paul Walsh, the chief executive of Diageo, met a group of business journalists to discuss his new role as deputy chairman of the Scotch Whisky Association.
The meeting was held on the day the British Government announced the date that the smoking ban would take effect in England and Wales, and he was asked whether he thought that alcohol faced the same fate as smoking as the antidrink lobby got stronger.
No, he said, because no one has ever suggested that a small number of cigarettes was good for you.
He may well have been wrong on two counts. Firstly, a few decades back smoking was indeed held up to be good for you. It was promoted in a very positive and cool light, and if the manufacturers didn’t actually claim benefits to you from smoking, they certainly implied it heavily, and weren’t contradicted.
And secondly, Walsh’s view that alcohol won’t go the same way as smoking is looking shakier and shakier by the week. Disconcertingly, in fact, there are many parallels between the two of them. Both were once freely promoted in a positive way, both have had restrictions imposed on them, the negative and destructive effects of both have been highlighted, and both have been targeted for tax under the excuse of health. And the strength of the language used against both escalated over time. The April issue of New Scientist even talks of the dangers of ‘passive drinking.’ You can’t separate them under the heading of ‘responsible moderation’ either, because .....
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By Dominic Roskrow
Section : Beer Issues
Page number : 33
