FOUR DRINKS A DAY DANGEROUS

Men who have more than four drinks of whisky a day or a litre of wine may damage stomachs and vital body organs, three doctors said recently.

Dr. Henri Sarle, professor of gastroenterology in France said, on the average, such drinkers will develop pancreatic disease in 18 years.

And it's worse for women. If they drink half as much as that they can expect pancreatic disease in 11 years he said.

Four whisky shots, are equivalent to six ounces.

Dr. Ivan Beck, professor of medicine at Queen's University, Kingston, said such drinking will destroy cells in the small intestine resulting in malnutrition in the drinkers.

Dr. Richard Gillies, associate professor of medicine at the University of Ottawa, said the drinking erodes the lining of the stomach and leads to massive bleeding.

Gillies said the connection between alcohol and liver damage and cirrhosis is well-known, but people are not so aware of the damage caused to other parts of the digestive tract.

More disease of the pancreas may occur in Canada because, since 1963, alcohol consumption has risen by 80 percent, mainly in teenage groups, he said.

Sarle said people "who drink to coma on weekends" but don't drink every day get acute attacks of pancreatic disease even more dangerous than the chronic disease. An attack can kill.

He said 60 percent of those with chronic disease who quit drinking at the first sympton usually live normal lives but often develop diabetes 20 years later.

If they continue drinking, the pain will become worse and they will become diabetic in two or three years, he said.

Beck said the businesman who has a couple of drinks before meals and bed, is a "prime candidate" for small bowell disease. It destroys his body's ability to use vitamins and other nutrients and he may get diarrhea, anemia and nerve changes.

Sarle said sarcastically that heavy drinkers save the nation money. "They usually die about age 60 and that is an economy for the state. It has no pension to pay," he said.

The government should force large distilleries to limit their production of booze. Alcoholism is a social and political responsibility, not a medical problem he said.

In France during World War Two cirrhosis of the liver disappeared completely among the French because the Germans drank all the booze, he said.

DON SAYS: Quite alarming! I never knew that drinking could be so destructive. It is apparent that even social drinking has its hazards. It is perfectly normal that a social drinker will go through life, enjoying a pleasant time with wine or alcohol, or beer, at a meal or during a party. It looks like the problems sneak up on us, without our knowing it. It is a wake up call.