Drinking may help prevent lung cancer

People who do or have smoked and drink at least one glass of wine each day are 60 percent less likely to develop lung cancer than those who have smoked and don’t drink red wine, said Dr. Chun Chao, of the Kaiser Permanente Southern California in Pasadena.

Chao said it's the resveratrol and flavonoids in red wine that are protective -- something white wine does not have.

The reduction seen with red wine "lends support to a causal association for red wine and suggests that compounds that are present at high concentrations in red wine but not in white wine, beer or liquors may be protective against lung carcinogenesis," Chao wrote in her study.
Drinking red wine not only reduces your risk for cardiovascular disease, but it may also reduce your risk for lung cancer – especially if you are a current or ex-smoker.