Earlier this year, France’s High Council for Public Health warned the French people that drinking any kind of alcohol in any amount represented a serious health risk.
Now, the Council has backed away from that stance, in effect “disowning” the study upon which the advice was based.
In the initial report, cancer was pinpointed as the most likely result of regular alcohol consumption.
Now, the Council is saying that the report failed to take into account “the positive aspects that some attribute to alcohol in improving their quality of life.”
Furthermore, the study did not “take into account the possible protective effect against cardiovascular diseases afforded by slight alcohol consumption.”
When the report was initially released, French winemakers were outraged, and pointed to hundreds of studies indicating that moderate consumption of wine could be a health benefit in many ways.
Now, the High Council for Public Health is acknowledging that oversight in backing away from its “no alcohol” recommendation.
