Forget one glass a day: no alcohol is safe, Dutch advisers warn

There is no safe level of alcohol consumption and even a single glass a day carries risk, the Dutch Health Council has concluded, advising the government to actively discourage drinking of all kinds for everyone in the country.

In an advisory report published on Thursday, the independent scientific body said alcohol policy should aim to “denormalise” drinking for all age groups and all sections of society, rather than identifying a level it considers safe.

The council was asked by the health ministry to look at alcohol’s effects on health “in the broad sense” – not only the risk of disease and death, but also road accidents and incidents of aggression and violence.

It found strong evidence that alcohol, in any quantity, raises the risk of seven types of cancer, as well as the risk of organ damage. The old idea that moderate drinking might protect against heart disease, for example by lowering cardiovascular risk, is not proven, it said.

A harder line The conclusion sharpens the council’s previous position. Its 2015 dietary guidelines advised people either not to drink or to limit themselves to one glass a day.

Alcohol also affects how the brain functions and increases the risk of addiction, the report said. Any level of drinking raises the chance of a traffic accident and of violence.

Dutch research published in January found that drinking two fewer glasses a week would prevent thousands of cancer cases by 2050, with researchers noting that even small amounts raise the risk.

Falling consumption The number of heavy and excessive drinkers in the Netherlands has been falling, and just over three-quarters of adults now say they drink.

The council said shifting the social norm would be a challenging transition, but that a growing group of non-drinkers could experience such a change as support.

The advice now goes to health minister Sophie Hermans, whose ministry commissioned it. The government has not yet said how it will respond.