Alcohol and Old Age.

Opunake Times, Volume II, Issue 65, 15 February 1895, Page 2

Alcohol and Old Age.

(Wanganui Herald.) Teetotallers always urge as an argument in favour of total abstinence from alcohol, that such a practice is conducive to longevity. We all remember Godfrey O'Malley's letter to his nephew on the subject, in which he tells him that, having been informed by hi 3 physician, if he reduced his daily quantum of port wiue it would lengthen his days. The Galway squire tried the experiment for one day, and wrote that it was the longest day he ever spent in his life, and the most miserable. No doubt temperance is a good thing in both eating and drinking, but total abstinence is another matter and has its drawbacks. Instead of conducing to longevity, medical men assert that it has the opposite effect, as will be seen from the table below, which gives the result of an enquiry by a committee appointed by the British Medical Association to go into the subject and ascertain the average age of the different catagories of drinkers—that is to say,-those who abstain entirely from indulgence in alcoholic beverages, those who partake of them in moderation, and those who drink to excess. The Committee based its report on 4231 deaths, which were divided into five categories of individuals, with the average age attained by each, which was as follows :

The above table, it will be seen, does not bear out the teetotallers' assertion that total abstinence from alcohol lengthens life; on the contrary, even the freest toper seems to live longer on the average than the strictest of teetotallers. But another table furnished the British Medical Association by another committee appointed by that body goes further, and shows the number of those who attain the age of 80 years and upwards is largely composed of those who drink alcoholic liquors, as out of 530 cases of persons attaining from 80 to 90 years only 15*47 per cent, were total abstainers, whilst 74*76 per cent were moderate drinkers. Of those between 90 and a 100 years of age, of jj&lch there were 689 only 15*25 per cent were teetotallers, whilst 74 75 per cent were moderate drinkers. No doubt excessive indulgence i'n alcoholic liquor does cause many d/eaths and much domestic misery, bufe it must also be admitted that alcohol saves more lives than most people are/aware, and cheers up many an aching and desponding heart when sore with illness or want, was given to than to make glad his heart, and not to shorten his days or wreck his happiness. It is the abuse of alcohol tbiat should be deprecated and discountenanced, and not the moderate usfe of an article so necessary to health and comfort,

yrs dys , 51 22 2. Habitually temperate drinkers ., , 63 13 3. Careless drinkers , 59 67 4. Free drinkers , 57 59 5. Intemperate drinkers , 53 3