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Less than half of Americans know that alcohol is a carcinogen

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Re: Less than half of Americans know that alcohol is a carcinogen

#71

Post by antognini »

hx2a wrote: post #26

Wait, what? Alcohol is a carcinogen? I didn't know this. Here's link to the CDC's website, referenced in that article: https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/moderate-drinking.ht... This part from the CDC's website is also interesting: Although past studies have indicated that moderate alcohol consumption has protective health benefits (e.g., reducing risk of heart disease), recent studies show this may not be true.…

The health benefits of wine (if they exist) seem to stem from chemicals in the grape skin (e.g., resveratrol and other phenols). The alcohol is likely a net negative. Because of this a glass of white wine is unlikely to provide the same health benefits as a glass of red wine.

Re: Less than half of Americans know that alcohol is a carcinogen

#73

Post by tyingq »

idoh wrote: post #12

This is a frustrating article, because it does not say how dangerous alcohol is. Maybe alcohol raises the risk of certain types of cancers, but only by a very tiny amount. Relative to other risks, even other risks from alcohol, do we really need to care about that?

I'd argue the other dangers of (significant) alcohol use far outweigh cancer.

Re: Less than half of Americans know that alcohol is a carcinogen

#74

Post by jcampbell1 »

hx2a wrote: post #26

Wait, what? Alcohol is a carcinogen? I didn't know this. Here's link to the CDC's website, referenced in that article: https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/moderate-drinking.ht... This part from the CDC's website is also interesting: Although past studies have indicated that moderate alcohol consumption has protective health benefits (e.g., reducing risk of heart disease), recent studies show this may not be true.…

People that drink one glass of wine have very low propensity to over indulge. The latter trait has all sorts of benefits including health and income. It is the adult marshmallow test.

Re: Less than half of Americans know that alcohol is a carcinogen

#75

Post by ogre_codes »

SoSoRoCoCo wrote: post #49
csours wrote: post #17

I bought a large mixing bowl, and it had a California Cancer label on the bottom. It's a regular metal bowl. If you put cancer labels on everything, people will quickly ignore them. Maybe it would be better if there was a scale on it, like this is a 1 banana equivalent risk or something, but then how do you determine my exposure to the cancer in the metal bowl.

I'll take a stab at the research if you link the bowl? I'm curious now. I appreciate California's proactive stance, and I guess I fall into the minority because I do pay attention to those labels.

I think the labels are over the top. If you make people put big cancer labels on everything which causes cancer and ignore the relative risks of one versus the other, it is impossible to make a rational choice about the issue.

Even a simple color guide would be a huge help.

Re: Less than half of Americans know that alcohol is a carcinogen

#76

Post by throwaway09223 »

35fbe7d3d5b9 wrote: post #44
csours wrote: post #17

I bought a large mixing bowl, and it had a California Cancer label on the bottom. It's a regular metal bowl. If you put cancer labels on everything, people will quickly ignore them. Maybe it would be better if there was a scale on it, like this is a 1 banana equivalent risk or something, but then how do you determine my exposure to the cancer in the metal bowl.

I was curious, so I googled: https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/general-info/proposition... > By law, a warning must be given for listed chemicals unless exposure is low enough to pose no significant risk of cancer > the "no significant risk level” is defined as the level of exposure that would result in not more than one excess case of cancer in 100,000 individuals exposed to the chemical over a 70-year lifetime Th…

Yes, prop 65 is absurd. Pro 65 among other things requires labels on:

* Parking garages

* French fries - https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mcdonalds-acrylamide-warni... (This sign is real; the McDonald's by my house has one)

* Toast

* Seaweed

* Coffee has been a battleground: https://www.consumerproductslawblog.com/2019/06/what-now-cal...

* Sand

You would be hard pressed to find something that prop 65 does not require to be labelled as cancer causing.

Re: Less than half of Americans know that alcohol is a carcinogen

#77

Post by umvi »

I learned this from my brother who is a dentist. He said not to use mouthwash with alcohol in it, because there is a link with mouth cancer.

But yeah, also doesn't help that alcohol is blatantly advertised and the health benefits loudly promoted (e.g. glass of wine a day).

Re: Less than half of Americans know that alcohol is a carcinogen

#78

Post by nikolay »

rriepe wrote: post #55
nikolay wrote: post #30

It's all about the dose. Drink too much water and you will die. Most people will under report the amount of alcohol they drink. With 50ml per day, alcohol has a great hormetic effect. Wine, for example, is not just alcohol. Just like natural beer - it's full of nutrients.

This is true for its well-known other health risks. Cancer risk doesn't care if you spread your seven drinks out over a week or over a night. Moderation might even be a riskier strategy from a cancer risk standpoint, if the imbibed amounts are otherwise the same.

Actually it does care about spreading over time. That's why plant toxins are good in small amounts and bad in large at once. It's always about weighing benefits and negative effects, not looking at things one-sidedly! I would never have vodka, cocktails, and other pure poison products, but I will have a glass of good red wine or a bottle of real beer! Pure ethanol is bad! Ethanol is metabolised as fructose! Sugary alcoholic drinks are the worst! So, let's not put all types of "alcohol" in the same bucket! With red wine and beer, you get benefits, which might outweigh the negative sides - even when not considering the hormetic effect of small amounts of ethanol!

Re: Less than half of Americans know that alcohol is a carcinogen

#79

Post by snazz »

adamhowell wrote: post #27

I've personally found, when people ask why I'm not drinking, that "Well, did you realize Alcohol is right above Arsenic on the carcinogen list?" is by far – compared to "Oh, I just don't drink" or the other reasons I've given in the past – the fastest way to move onto other topics.

Does arsenic usually cause cancer or is it toxic in another way? While you can also get alcohol poisoning, this seems like an imperfect comparison.
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