Drinking patterns and changes in alcohol consumption from 1974 to 1984 and associations between alcohol consumption in 1974 and ten-year mortality rates from cardiovascular, violent, cancer or all causes were studied among Finnish men born between 1900 and 1919. The overall absolute alcohol consumption was low in both 1974 and 1984. The average alcohol consumption and drinking pattern did not significantly change with increasing age, though some individual changes occured. Moderate or heavier alcohol consumption was a significant risk factor for cancer deaths among non-smoking men, but not in male smokers. Moderate or heavier alcohol consumption might also be a significant risk factor in violent death. Low, moderate or heavier alcohol consumption was not a significant risk factor for coronary deaths among the men in this rural Finnish population.