Supposedly scientific case for moderate drinking springs a leak

New York

IT'S an irresistible headline: people who drink alcohol in moderation actually live longer than those who abstain entirely. Counterintuitive studies that show the purported benefits of a drink or two a day prompt flurries of bright news reports. You can hear the glasses clinking.

Buzzkill: it's probably not true, according to a new analysis of existing research published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

It turns out many studies showing that moderate drinkers live longer than non-drinkers suffer from a big flaw: the "abstai…