Alcohol

Jacob Sullum | 1.8.2025 12:01 AM

Even moderate drinking could give you cancer, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned last week. But according to a congressionally commissioned report published last month, moderate drinking is associated with reduced overall mortality.

Although those findings are not as contradictory as they might seem, the dueling glosses reflect the complexities and ambiguities of epidemiology. The evidence on this subject is vast but open to interpretation, leaving ample room for spin, especially when it comes to this year's politically fraught revision of the federal government's dietary advice.

According to Murthy's advisory, alcohol consumption has been convincingly linked to "at least seven different types of cancer." And for some cancers, Murthy says, "evidence shows that this risk may start to increase around one or fewer drinks per........

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