James Bond is a 'severe' alcoholic: Academics declare 007 should be provided with help to tackle his problem from MI6

James Bond is a 'severe' alcoholic and should be offered medical help by his employer, M16, academics have said.

The double agent drinks a total of 109 drinks over 24 films - an average of 4.5 per film, an analysis by researchers at the University of Otago in New Zealand found.

His record binge in the Quantum of Solace (2008) saw 007, played by Daniel Craig, consume 24 units of alcohol in one sitting - 'enough to kill some people'.

'Bond has drunk heavily and consistently across six decades,' the authors of the study said.

'We classified him as having severe alcohol use disorder, as he satisfied six of 11 DSM-5 criteria for this condition.'

The DSM-5 is The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, which is used by mental health professionals to assess disorders.
Bond's love of a tipple, or his 'chronic' alcohol use disorder, as stated by the academic, led him to make bad choices.

They found Bond tended to engage in risky' behaviour like fights and high-speed driving, sometimes while intoxicated.

'Chronic risks include frequently drinking prior to fights, driving vehicles (including in chases), high stakes gambling, operating complex machinery or devices, contact with dangerous animals, extreme athletic performance and sex with enemies, sometimes with guns or knives in the bed,' lead author Professor Nick Wilson of the University of Otago, Wellington, said.

The authors of the report were also critical of his employer, MI6, saying they should have been more 'responsible'.

'MI6 management needs to redefine Bond's job to reduce his stress levels,' the study published in the Medical Journal of Australia said.

'More field support and a stronger team approach are needed so that his duties do not weigh as heavily upon him.'

The authors suggested work-funded counselling or psychiatric support would be appropriate, considering he could have had post-traumatic stress after killing so many people and being tortured in films such as Casino Royale (2006) and Spectre (2015).

'To start with, M should no longer offer Bond drinks in workplace settings,' the authors said.

Although Bond is famous for his 'shaken, not stirred' martinis, he wouldn't turn down a neat vodka, champagne, cocktail or an occasional beer, the study found.

In the most alcohol-fuelled scene, on a plane in the film Quantum of Solace, Bond consumes 24 units of alcohol in six 'vespers'.

The vesper cocktail has a base of both gin and vodka, a recipe that was given to Bond by a barman in the 2006 film, Casino Royale.

This level of alcohol was 'well into the range that can be fatal', the authors said.

Notably, they say, this wasn't near the high amount consumed in one of the books - although it not stated which one - of 50 units.

'Consumed over 12 hours, this would achieve a blood alcohol level of about 0.61 g/dL, a level that would be fatal for most people; the highest blood alcohol level measured in a living person among 46,000 patients at a trauma centre was also 0.61 g/dL.14,' the authors said.

'Other notable features include a medical scan that showed his liver was "not too good" and a MI6 report on Bond that stated, "alcohol and substance addiction indicated".'

While ideally Bond should seek professional help for his drinking, the authors suggest he should avoid drinking on the job, especially de-activating nuclear weapons, for example.

Bond has been subject to extensive research, with scientists publishing articles in scholarly journals about his smoking, violent behaviour and psychopathology.

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