The recent report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Older Persons’ Substance Misuse Working Group ^1,2 advises the lowering of the recommended limit of alcohol consumption for people over 65. The editor of Saga magazine, Emma Soames, reacted to this recommendation by saying that: ‘I think people will be infuriated by this. It’s described as a public health problem, it’s actually a private health matter’. ^{Reference Hughes3} People over 65 are, overall, very much aware that they need to do things in moderation, which is in fact a good universal advice for the young as well as the old. They do not welcome new additions to their ever-expanding list of lifestyle limitations, or being labelled as excessive drinkers by their general practitioner if they choose to drink a pint of beer at night. A holistic approach might well conclude that in many instances an elderly person will be happier and even healthier (in the holistic sense) with a pint, or perhaps even two, than without them.