It seems for every nutrition study out there, you can find another one that will say the exact opposite. My 2011 resolution is to skip nutrition advice altogether.
That's important, because work needs to be done to identify other lifestyle habits that tend to be present in lifelong-teetotalers, but not in the drinking group. I think it's entirely reasonable to think that folks who abstain from alcohol over the course of a lifetime probably have a lot of other habits that are a bit healthier as well.
So I think it's important to note that this article drew very little in the way of conclusions, but I get the feeling that folks are going to take it and run with it anyways.
One of the headline figures, apart from the weight loss, is the reduction in his cholesterol levels. I think this is probably a bit disingenuous though as he admits to giving up meat during the process ;) All the same, it's a good story.
The trick is to filter through the B.S. and work out for yourself what your plan will be.