I think that the key here is not so much what you drink but more about moderation. Drinking a six pack with a Mexican meal is NOT moderation - sorry Bill - and "Denial" is not a river in Eygpt. A "normal person" will sometimes drink 1/2 a glass of wine and toss the rest down the sink, an alcy wouldn't think of wasting a drop. I've seen people at weddings going table to table polishing off others drinks while they were on the dancefloor - especially when there was a no host bar but I digress.

This is an issue that has no easy and quick answer and has made many appearences here on the forum. A 12 oz beer and glass of wine both have the equivalent alcohol content of a straight shot - so one has to ask is the type of alcohol the issue or the alcohol content itself? Some advocate not even using mouth washes containing alcohol (or even Nyquil). There has been some data to suggest that anything that causes irritation in the throat may lead to cell mutation and oncogenesis. Even drinking (non-alcoholic)beverages too hot or even too cold has been implicated as a causitive factor.

Like other medication, it is more a matter of "risk and benefit" and whether you can be "rigorously honest" about your true alcohol consumption. IMO an occasional beer or glass of wine is probably not statistically going to increase your odds of a recurrence ("occasionally" doesn't mean "daily").

If I were NOT an alcoholic (12 years in program) would I be sipping on whiskey after all I have through, probably not. Would I have an occasional glass of wine or a beer, probably.

This really a question of what value you place on your life, much like what foods you eat and what toxic exposures you have to deal with. Simply living in certain states increases your cancer risk (Utah has the lowest percentage of cancer per capita).