Recent research suggests that even moderate alcohol consumption, traditionally viewed as relatively harmless, could shorten a person’s life. While it has long been known that heavy drinking can cause serious health issues, emerging studies now indicate that consuming just one alcoholic drink a day could shave two months off your lifespan.
This new insight challenges previous beliefs and adds complexity to the long-debated question: How much alcohol is safe?

The Changing Understanding of Alcohol and Health
For many years, moderate alcohol consumption—especially red wine—was considered part of a healthy lifestyle. Some studies even suggested that one or two drinks a day could lower the risk of heart disease and have other protective effects. However, newer research is shifting that perspective, highlighting the risks associated with any level of alcohol consumption.
One recent large-scale study, published in The Lancet, evaluated alcohol use and its effects on health across 195 countries between 1990 and 2016. The findings were stark: no level of alcohol consumption is safe for overall health. According to the study, alcohol use was responsible for 2.8 million deaths globally in 2016, making it one of the leading causes of premature death and disability worldwide . This global perspective reinforced the notion that even moderate drinking is harmful.
How One Drink a Day Could Shorten Your Life
A pivotal study published in 2018 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research calculated that consuming one alcoholic drink daily could reduce a person’s life expectancy by an average of two months. The researchers reached this conclusion after analyzing data from nearly 600,000 individuals from multiple countries. Their focus was on determining how alcohol consumption impacted life expectancy, and their findings were surprising.
The study found that, on average, people who consumed more than 100 grams of alcohol per week (equivalent to about 7 standard drinks) had a shortened lifespan. Specifically, for those who drank one standard drink per day, which is about 14 grams of alcohol, the risk of early death increased proportionally. Each additional drink above this limit was associated with an even higher risk .
Key Findings:
One drink per day can shorten lifespan: The study suggested that consuming around 100 grams of alcohol weekly could reduce a person’s lifespan by roughly six months to two years, depending on the quantity. One drink per day typically equates to about 98 grams of alcohol per week, which puts moderate drinkers at risk for a life expectancy reduction of two months or more.
Cardiovascular risks rise with moderate consumption: While some previous research suggested benefits to heart health, this study found that moderate drinking actually increased the risk of stroke, heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, and fatal aortic aneurysms. For each drink above the threshold of 100 grams of alcohol per week, the risk for these conditions increased .
Greater risk with higher consumption: The more alcohol consumed per day, the more significant the reduction in lifespan. Drinking 2-3 drinks daily could shorten life expectancy by several years due to increased risks of cancers, liver disease, and other conditions.
How Alcohol Affects the Body
Even at moderate levels, alcohol impacts the body in several ways that can lead to serious health problems over time.
1. Increased Cancer Risk
One of the major concerns linked to alcohol consumption is an increased risk of developing cancers, including cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, colon, and breast. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen, placing it alongside known carcinogens such as asbestos and tobacco.
A recent study published in The Lancet Oncology found that alcohol was responsible for over 740,000 cancer cases worldwide in 2020. Even small amounts of alcohol increase the risk of these cancers, with the risk rising exponentially as consumption increases .
2. Impact on the Heart
Although previous studies have linked moderate alcohol consumption to a reduced risk of heart disease, more recent research disputes these findings. The 2018 Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research study found that even moderate drinking raises the risk of several cardiovascular problems, including stroke and hypertension.
Alcohol raises blood pressure, causes irregular heartbeats, and can contribute to the buildup of fatty deposits in arteries. This puts even light drinkers at risk of serious heart problems over time.
3. Liver Damage
The liver is particularly vulnerable to the effects of alcohol. Even moderate drinking can contribute to liver inflammation and the early stages of liver disease, such as fatty liver. Heavy drinking can lead to cirrhosis, a condition where the liver becomes scarred and loses its ability to function.
Why Previous Research Got It Wrong
One reason why older stud