007: Licence to kill…yourself with booze James Bond?

13-Dec-2013 - Last updated on 13-Dec-2013 at 14:29 GMT

Picture: Thor/Flickr

James Bond’s fondness for Vodka Martini cocktails and wine would leave Her Majesty’s top agent useless between the sheets and facing an early death, according to UK researchers.

A study published in the Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) analyzed the 14 novels on 007 written by Ian Fleming and found that – excluding 36 days spent in prison, rehab or hospital – the spy got through 1,150 units of alcohol in 88 days.

At 92 units/week this is four time the recommended alcohol intake for men in the UK.

"James Bond’s level of alcohol intake puts him at high risk of multiple alcohol related diseases and an early death. The level of functioning as displayed in the books is inconsistent with the physical, mental, and indeed sexual functioning expected from someone drinking this much alcohol," the researchers conclude.

"We advise an immediate referral for further assessment and treatment, a reduction in alcohol consumption to safe levels, and suspect that the famous catchphrase “shaken, not stirred” could be because of alcohol induced tremor affecting his hands."

Title: 'Were James Bond’s drinks shaken because of alcohol induced tremor?'

Authors: Johnson, G., Guha, I.N., Davies, P.

Source: British Medical Journal, 2013; 347, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f7255