If you drink alcohol, this will ruin your day. Then again, it might not. It depends on whether you drink alcohol because you believe it's good for you. How many of you would continue to drink alcohol if it were known to take years off your life? Would it matter how many years? If so, how many years would you give up to continue drinking? I'm a teetotaler. I haven't had a drop of alcohol since February 1978, when I was 20. (All of my drinking occurred between July 1974, when I was 17, and February 1978.) I've always believed that alcohol, in moderation, is good for you. That had no effect on my decision to abstain.