Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has told people to drink more alcohol if they want to live longer. The pub chain founder and chairman, 70, claimed the longest-lived nations all drink alcohol – citing the example of Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who reached 122 and reportedly drank daily.
Sir Tim – knighted in the 2024 New Year Honours – urged people to take official health advice “with a large pinch of salt”. He said: “It is often argued that even one drink is bad for you. This seems to me to be yet another example of an illusory ‘consensus’ among medics who have lost objectivity.
“In any event, a cautious approach by the public to any claim of ‘consensus’ on health issues is surely advisable. So much of the ‘official’ advice from governments in the last 50 or 60 years has turned out to be wrong. For example, cheese, eggs and whole milk were for many decades regarded as outright dangerous by an almost unanimous and wrong consensus among the medical profession of that era.
“However, that advice has mostly been rescinded. Now your pint of Doom Bar or Ruddles, or your glass of sauvignon blanc, is in the crosshairs of the health lobby. Of course, Wetherspoon has a conflict of interest in the anti-alcohol debate; so, I beg you, take what I say with a large pinch of salt.
“The longest-lived nations all seem to indulge in a few sherbets. Astonishingly, they all also consume more salt than we do. The Aussies, Irish and Swedes, for example, some of the world’s longest-living people, are all notorious guzzlers, yet dominate the list.
“The Japanese, generally admired by the health lobby for their good dietary practices, are also partial to a tincture. How do they explain the fact that nations with the greatest longevity are invariably enthusiastic drinkers? Or that many, or most, centenarians are drinkers?
“The longest-ever-lived human being, whose age has been officially verified, was Jeanne Calment of Arles, France. Jeanne died at 122, having lived about five years longer than anyone else, before or since – while apparently enjoying a ‘port wine’ with her meals, having given up smoking at 117.
“Jeanne must have been designed specifically to undermine every main theme of popular health advice. Non-drinking nations do not feature in the top-10 list, although, to be fair, factors such as relative wealth, efficiency of health systems and so on, are also important.
“History suggests that governments and medics, with the best of intentions, often seem to get dietary advice wrong. As in so many areas where expert opinions are concerned, we need to consider the evidence and make up our own mind.”
The NHS website describes alcohol misuse drinking “in a way that’s harmful, or when you’re dependent on alcohol”. It suggests keeping health risks from alcohol to a low level by not regularly drinking more than 14 units a week.
Persistent alcohol misuse increases your risk of serious health conditions, including heart disease, stroke, liver disease, liver cancer, bowel cancer, mouth cancer, breast cancer, pancreatitis, damage to the brain and other serious conditions, according to health experts.