SUAVE, debonnaire, charming, sex-obsessed, chauvinistic … James Bond has been called many things. Now, it turns out, we can add a bit squiffed to the list.

He has been put under the microscope by researchers who have analysed the drinking habits of the martini-loving fictional spy across the 24 007 movies.

In an article titled Licence To Swill, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, academics from the University of Otago in New Zealand concluded that Bond should seek professional help for his drinking. They also said his workplace MI6 needs to become a responsible employer and refer him to support services, and to change its own workplace drinking culture.

In their analysis, the researchers found that a drink passed Bond’s lips 109 times during his six-decade on-screen career at an average of 4.5 times per film. More bloodshot eye than GoldenEye, then.

While Bond tended to mix his drinks, including beer and champagne, it is the martini for which the tuxedo-sporting spy is best known. The researchers said 007’s biggest binge involved the consumption of six “vesper” martinis on a plane in the film Quantum Of Solace.

Invented by Bond creator Ian Fleming in the book Casino Royale, the vesper martini is made up of three measures of Gordon’s gin, one measure of vodka and half a measure of Kina Lillet. It’s not surprising Bond at times had problems with the letter esh.

Drinking six of these would equate to about 24 units of alcohol, the researchers estimated, which would leave Bond with a blood alcohol level of 0.36, well into the range that can be fatal.

The researchers also noted that Bond tended to engage in risky behaviour while drinking.

This included frequently drinking prior to fights, driving vehicles (including in chases), high-stakes gambling, operating complex machinery and extreme athletic performance. Sex with enemies was also cited as questionable. This took place “sometimes with guns or knives in the bed”, lead author Professor Nick Wilson said.

Dangerous animals Bond had dealt with after drinking included a snake, a scorpion and a komodo dragon. Operating nuclear technology in 1962’s Dr No was among the complex tasks the agent managed to tackle while puggled.

Bond’s relationship with the bottle was stacked up against the DSM-5 criteria, a set of questions that indicates the presence of an alcohol use disorder. The research team found that Bond satisfied at least six of the symptoms, enough for a “severe” drinking problem, and possibly three more.

In the article, which won joint first prize in the Medical Journal of Australia’s Christmas competition for quirky pieces of scientific research, Bond is advised to seek professional help for his drinking, including from his employer Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

“To start with, M should no longer offer Bond drinks in workplace settings,” Wilson said.

“Further, MI6 management needs to redefine Bond’s job to reduce his stress levels. More field support and a stronger team approach are needed so that his duties do not weigh as heavily upon him.”

Perhaps that’s why Bond’s doing Dry January in a new Heineken advert in which he chooses an alcohol-free beer over a cocktail.

That’ll be shaken … not slurred.