A new study from The Cancer Research Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, reports that light to moderate drinkers show an overall lower risk of dying as compared to abstainers. Writing in the scientific journal, Epidemiology, researcher Gentraud Maskarinec and colleagues note that:

"men and women with low alcohol intake (1-7 drinks per week) experienced a 20% reduction in total mortality."

 The researchers found favourable effects for Caucasian, Asian and Hawaiian men, although they state that "the possible protective levels of alcohol for women and Asian men appear to be lower than for Caucasian men." It is important to note that this cohort included members of all ethnic groups of Hawaii, recruited by The Hawaii Department of Health, with more than two-thirds of the study participants of Asian or Hawaiian descent.