I do drink. I’m not against moderate drinking and I’m now in an age group where there may be some health benefits. But it has to be said that those benefits have been overstated. As a population, we are drinking far more than the amount that could be classed as good for us. I stick below the government guidelines of 21 units a week for men. I’m probably quite unusual because I drink more during the week, at dinners and receptions, and less at weekends and on holiday. Everyone should have at least two alcohol-free days a week.

I drink mainly wine, but in terms of health it doesn’t matter what you drink. Some of my patients say: “I don’t touch spirits, only mild lager” — but that doesn’t make any difference if you’re drinking ten of them a day.

Society shouldn’t tolerate drunkeness. Forty years ago medical students drank quite heavily and I was not immune on occasion. But I would never get into that position now. I wouldn’t want to, but nor could I afford to. Anyway, I’m sure the Daily Mail would be waiting for me.

I don’t worry about my liver every time I have a drink. Doctors have to have a defence mechanism — a mind-set that illness is something that happens to other people. I’ve had to deal with traffic accidents but it didn’t cause me to say I won’t go into a car again.

We all have a life to live. There’s a risk in everything and the important thing is to be proportionate.

Professor Ian Gilmore is a professor of hepatology and president of the Royal College of Physicians