If abstainers try to be moderate, they spend a lot of mental energy battling their temptations.

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Abstainers were told that their virtuousness was hurting commerce and depriving the country of revenue.

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It is true, as the abstainers often point out, that there is no such thing as safe sex.

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It isn't clear how much help the abstainers will offer Washington in crafting the marketplaces and recruiting customers.

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The wilder elements conducted public smashings of teacups besmirched by sugar, but most abstainers tried to make their point more politely.

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Light drinkers were more likely to be better educated and from higher income households and were less likely to have smoked during pregnancy than abstainers.

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Girls born to light drinkers were 30% less likely to have emotional problems than those born to abstainers, although the researchers say this could be due to family and social backgrounds.

BBC: Light drinking 'no risk to baby'

Past studies have also suggested this - although it has been argued the differences may have arisen as light drinkers may come from a higher income or more educated background than abstainers.

BBC: Light drinking 'not harmful to baby' say scientists

This makes it entirely possible, if a couple of the Democratic abstainers can be worked on and the 10 Republicans who voted in favour of the bail-out stick to their guns, that the bill could be approved then.

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