Distant health warnings move almost nobody. The cost that lands is the one showing up this month: your memory, your marks, the work you know you could be doing.

What the research says

A Cochrane review of brief alcohol interventions found that a single short structured conversation in primary care reduced drinking by a modest but real amount, roughly twenty grams of alcohol a week, among hazardous drinkers who had not asked for help. Modest is the honest word for it. It suggests one well aimed conversation is worth having, and that no single conversation carries the whole job.

Strength of evidence: one line of research. A single study, or a theoretical account.