"Shaken, not stirred" is James Bond's catchphrase for a reason -- the suave British Secret Service is a bit too fond of the drink. But is Agent 007 an alcoholic? Public health researchers have taken the time to study all 24 Bond films and have declared Bond a severe alcoholic.
Bond may have been too busy over the years driving fast cars and taking down seemingly insurmountable villains to stop and take care of his health, but the academics over at the University of Otago in New Zealand are here to call him and his employer MI6 out for what they have concluded is a chronic alcohol use disorder.
Per The Telegraph's report of research published in the Medical Journal of Australia, there is strong evidence pointing to James Bond suffering from a chronic alcohol consumption problem at the sever end of the spectrum. He has apparently sipped a drink 109 times throughout the course of the film series, with an average of 4.5 drinks in each film.
After enjoying a classy martini, the sophisticated secret service agent also engages in "risky" behavior such as badass fight sequences, high-speed driving and extreme physical efforts. Sure it looks cool on screen, but its characteristic of some serious alcoholism on Bond's part.
According to the study, Daniel Craig's Bond exemplified the extreme for the character's alcoholism in 2008's Quantum of Solace when he seemed to have 24 drinks, which would have put him at potentially fatal blood alcohol levels.
The study points a finger at 007's employer MI6, who needs to "redefine Bond's job to reduce his stress levels," along with condemning M for often offering him a drink in the workplace. The researchers also suggested that MI6 offer more support for Bond in the field, and a stronger team approach so his job doesn't weigh so heavily on him.
We're all on the same page that James Bond is a fictional character, right?
James Bond is an iconic character that millions have watched mix martini-sipping with getting a day's work done, so it does make sense for public health researches to study his behavior and identify it for what it is. Agent 007 is a character long looked up to by audiences, so this analysis proving that his actions detail one of a severe alcoholic is good information to keep in the back of one's head next time we watch the character.
The next Bond film is currently in early development, with Daniel Craig reprising the role for the last time before potentially a new face takes up the mantle. Director of Maniac and Season one of True Detective, Cary Fukunaga is helming the project that began with Craig's Bond in Casino Royale in 2006.
Maybe the character will think twice now that he's been briefed about his alcohol disorder... but then again the man has stayed relatively the same age on screen since the '60s so he might just say "live and let die" or "tomorrow never dies", "die another day?"
