[Arthur Gordon Pym]

Conventional wisdom says that alcohol destroys the organism and makes life shorter. Recently a father of a friend of mine passed away and he was 70. I knew about that man that he was drinking heavily for the whole of his life, at least for the last fifty years, every single day. Upon hearing the notice of his death, I said unto myself: had he not drunk so much, maybe he would have lived until his nineties. But then another idea occurred to my mind: is it maybe that alcohol protects the body from some kinds of diseases, but causes others? I have not seen any proof that non-drinkers live significantly longer than the drinkers.