Science Tuesday: Modern Day Indulgences

True, most of the time today, when we talk about indulgences we just mean something that's bad for us, that we permit ourselves. But it turns out coffee is also an indulgence in the best traditions of mideival Catholicism; it erases other misdeeds. According to this article from Science News:

One of the largest studies ever conducted shows that coffee drinkers die at almost the same rates as their non-drinking peers. But, after controlling for the fact that coffee drinkers tend to exercise less and smoke more, coffee is linked to a slightly lower death rate in both men and women...

Overall, participants who downed a few cups of coffee a day had about the same death rate as those who didn’t drink coffee, despite the fact that coffee drinkers tended to smoke more, drink more alcohol, not take vitamins and exercise less. All of those factors are linked to higher death rates.

The article goes on to say this result is seen mostly only in women, and stops short of recommending lazy smokers add a vice for their health. On the lazy side, I'm disappointed the only (non-athletic) way to deal with my sloth is to drink a beverage which makes me sick, I'll wait to here from Helen for the smoker's side.