The cover of this week’s Lancet, in bold: “No doctor should be practicing, even after that single glass of cold Chardonnay”.
This refers to a brief editorial on the topic, “Just one before the scalpel“. In that editorial, the Lancet states:
“The individual response to alcohol varies greatly, depending on sex, body size, eating food, taking other drugs (eg, antihistamines), and the complexity of the impending task. Because of the unpredictability of the response, no alcohol in the blood when on call must become the norm. Indeed, other professions face that stricture. For example, UK pilots are not meant to fly for at least 8 h after drinking even small amounts. US pilots face stricter rules: no drinking within 8 h of take-off.”
Now let’s see. No drinking within 8h of take-off is stricter than not flying for at least 8h after drinking. Am I missing something? Or have the proof-readers at the Lancet been sneaking off to their local pub?