Can someone better versed in the literature than I please tell me how to interpret this 2023 Lancet paper, “Health and cancer risks associated with low levels of alcohol consumption,” if not as evidence that light to moderate drinking appears to be causative for some cancers? Literally, it says:
“Alcohol, as classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, is a toxic, psychoactive, and dependence-producing substance and a Group 1 carcinogen that is causally linked to seven types of cancer, including oesophagus, liver, colorectal, and breast cancers. Alcohol consumptions is associated with 740 000 new cancer cases each year globally.” https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(22)00317-6/fulltext I’m willing to accept that I’m missing something but I’d love to know what. |
Your aunt is an alcoholic with a physiological dependency on alcohol. If she were to suddenly stop drinking, she will experience withdrawal, which is no fun at all. This moment in time does remind me of smoking. Everyone knew smoking was bad for them - just like alcohol - but they did it anyway because it was a social norm. A very high percentage of people smoked from roughly 1940 to 2000. And then suddenly, smoking was deemed trashy and people stopped smoking cigarettes and young people didn't pick it up. I think a similar moment is happening with alcohol. People are increasingly aware that alcohol is a sledgehammer to every organ in their body. It's sugar and empty calories and it takes a long time to recover, particularly as you get older. More and more people are deciding the buzz isn't worth the costs - whether its health or the behavioral issues that sometimes arise with drinking. But I don't think people are necessarily embracing 100 percent sobriety. It's not a coincidence that the turn away from alcohol is happening just as cannabis is becoming widely available and socially acceptable. Instead of drinks at the end of the day, people are taking a gummy instead. California sober will increasingly become the norm, particularly among the young. Plus bars are really expensive these days. A gummy costs approximately two dollars. Whereas two mixed drinks at a bar can easily run 40 dollars with tip. The trend lines are very clear. Young people can't afford to drink. And older people are increasingly concerned about their health. |
They always have been! They swill morning dew like water ![]() |
OP I drink for two months of the year (more than 2 drinks). It used to be wine but now it is bloody Mary’s.
I too thought when I went to this life style I would lose 10lb from alcohol alone. It did not work that way for me either. It did quickly lower my blood pressure I noticed. For a few years I have been very into exercise and some old people body building competitions. When I come off my two months of drinking it takes about 3-4 weeks for my body to reset, bp to drop, and “fog” of alcohol brain. |
Yeah I quit smoking and felt no physical difference. Actually back then (on my 20s) I was running 20 miles a week. Socially though fewer people are grossed out by me. |
I don’t think anyone sensible denies higher risk cancer of some cancers. The effect from light drinking is not huge. That 740,000 cases needs to be put in the context of 8 billion people, some of whom are heavy drinkers. And there are also (probably) benefits in terms of stroke and other cardiovascular diseases from light drinking that may (partially) offset the risks. |
Well, to be fair a pp did say “Smoking was proven to directly cause cancer. Moderate drinking has not been so definitevely. You have to read the studies with just a tiny bit of care to understand this. But you read shallow articles and get your information from DCUM and Instagram and simply don't understand the facts.” |
Who are you quoting? I’m the PP you’re responding to and I didn’t use the word cherish. Don’t put words in my mouth. All it does is cheapen and invalidate your argument. |
This is bizarre. For 2 months a year you drink bloody marys, then you don't drink the rest of the year? |
No, this is simply an American bugbear. I am in Europe right now and everyone is drinking wine, lunch and dinner, young and old. I sat next to a table of 70 year olds knocking back wine at lunch yesterday. |
I think it’s all these apps the techies use. We are all quickly able to see alcohol’s impact on heart rate, sleep, calories, weight, etc. Plus everyone uses social media and zoom, so your weight and puffy face has more permanency than ever before. Plus everyone uses those workout apps which share all of your physical activities. It’s become really sad and cringe, for lack of a better word, to be seen as some lazy and puffy boozer. Eating cleanly. Living cleanly. Walking around in form-fitting workout clothes and yoga pants. Hiking. Boozing just isn’t trendy and cool anymore. Boozing after work and happy hours are seen as like a boomer thing. Having lots of will-power to be a teetotaler is cool now. |
Beer, wine and spirits are for dumb boomers.
Ambitious, smart and competitive young professionals are into adderall, zyn and testosterone replacement therapy. |
Well, you only read the conclusion and didn’t look at the data yourself. Instead of cutting and pasting the conclusion, paste the data that proves its causative and not correlative. Furthermore, even if it’s causative, I notice what you paste doesn’t show what it causes. And what that is, is a small increase in one’s risk. When the risk is already under .40 for even the most common, a slight increase in risk still doesn’t lead to a cancer warning. But again, read the data, not the opinions. |
Yes, 10 months out of the year I am in training. I probably only drink a few times a week in my off months but it is just bloody Mary’s and occasionally a beer or glass of wine. Bloody Mary is one of the “healthiest” drinks actually. Not as good as vodka tonic or something but I like bloody Mary’s more and am going to indulge in my off time. |
No matter how many times you repeat this, it doesn’t take away from the fact that the world’s bars in large urban centers are packed with young, attractive people, drinking alcohol. |