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Macron drinks too much wine, says health expert
French president Emmanuel Macron’s habit of drinking a glass of wine with lunch and dinner has come under fire from a leading epidemiologist.
Macron has previously been criticised for his laissez faire attitudes towards alcohol regulation. Now his own drinking habits are under attack.
Macron’s 14 glasses of wine a week, one with lunch and dinner each day, is unhealthy, claims French epidemiologist Catherine Hill. She has previously served on the Agence du Médicament’s scientific advisory board.
Macron opened up about his alcohol consumption at an agricultural fair last month. Hill said in an interview with France Info: “The president is ill-informed [about the health risks associated with drinking] and drinks too much.”
Hill recommended that Macron limit himself to 10 glasses per week. His current consumption of 14 glasses a week is in line with the French national average.
The debate over France’s predilection for wine came to a head when nine doctors published an open letter in Le Figaro last month.
They claimed that comments made by Macron and his government about the health benefits of wine were misleading and called for tougher regulations. Alcohol leads to around 50,000 deaths per year in France, they added.
In February, France’s health minister appeared on a programme for France 2 called ‘Alcohol: the French taboo’ and criticised the French government’s attitude to wine.
He said: “We have let the French population think that wine protects them, that it brings benefits that other alcohols do not. It’s untrue scientifically, wine is an alcohol like any other.”
France drinks around 12 litres of alcohol per capita per year, making its alcohol consumption one of the highest in Europe. 60% of this is wine.
Well I trust M le President takes no notice of Dr Hill! Sante !
Mrs. Angela Merkel also likes wine! White Wine…preferrably from South Tyrol…look at the Italians…lunch and aperitivo and dinner with wine…don
t destroy this very old culture….everybody is responsible for himself…! Gin and Tonic in Great Britain supports your health conditions depending of course on the quantity…Queen Mom!
We don’t need ‘teachers’ tellling consumers about ancient old habits…wine also works as a remedy – Hildegard von Bingen….it is all about self discipline and having fun with like minded people… then it uplifts your mind and soul!
10 glasses a week are healthy. 14 are not!! Has she done any studies or she is saying it to score only brownie points?!!
I think currently it is fashionable to link wine with ill-health. Wine in moderation is the key to good health.
Unless studies show otherwise, 10-14 glasses a week are within the limits. She has not talked about the alcohol in wine.
Difference between 12% to 15% is 25%!! And she has not said anything about alcohol content in these glasses. Maybe she means 14.5% which is getting to be a norm than 12.5% that is still available in many places. Beyond a certain point alcohol in wine is certainly harmful.
Oh for goodness sake you are all wrong! What rubbish you people are spouting.
Red wine has resveratrol and polyphenols which are so good for health in many respects. Plus white wine also has Polyphenols.
There was a study done years ago on people who religiously drank half bottle wine a day. No issues found.
They dont want you to drink because its bloody good for you.
I also worked as a counsellor for a drinks agency. I studied alcohol intake and the implications.
Did heavy drinking hurt Churchill ? Believe he loved his brandy and drank daily. These doctors should study why some heavy drinkers live to late 90s and others go much sooner. Maybe they’d discover ways to make one of life’s pleasures less dangerous.