[zelphirkalt]

> […] So what? That doesn't mean it's significant.

It is the question, how significant it is. Then there is the question, what level of significance will make a person reconsider their consumption.

However, the statement that no amount is truly safe, if it is correct, means, that in general alcohol is an unnecessary risk. There is no need to drink it and no good for ones heart comes of it in terms of biology. What society does with this info is up to all of us.

[tarboreus]

This is only true if you assume or demonstrate that alcohol has no benefits to individuals that outweigh the downside risk to health. As the downside appears to be relatively small, this seems like a fairly difficult bar to clear.

[tomtheelder]

No, their statement is correct regardless of the benefits. This brief isn't a cost benefit analysis. It's not a dietary guideline. It's a statement of medical fact (based on current research, anyway): that no amount of alcohol is safe for cardiovascular health.

There may well be benefits to alcohol consumption, but those are entirely irrelevant here.