NYC Launches PR Campaign Pushing Alcohol-Cancer Link
No data or evidence or information of risk provided in NYC's Campaign Information
What would you do if you wanted to motivate someone or some group into giving up wine drinking? The proper answer to that question is simple: Scare the shit out of them.
This is exactly what New York City is attempting to do in May with their campaign to convince New Yorkers that having a glass of wine will give them cancer. However, the month-long campaign is long on fear and short on information. And there’s a reason for this. But, first the campaign.
On May first, the New York City Department of Health announced the following in a press release: “Buzzkill: NYC Health Department Launches Campaign To Reduce New Yorkers’ Risk of Alcohol-Related Cancers.”
Their message was the following:
“Drinking alcohol increases cancer risk. Alcohol is a known carcinogen: consuming even one drink a day increases the risk for at least seven types of cancer, including breast, colorectum, esophagus, voice box, liver, mouth, and throat.”
They intend to get this message out in the following ways:
“Running throughout May on subways and social media, in bars and public spaces, over the radio, and in community and ethnic publications, the ad campaign directs New Yorkers to learn about alcohol-related health risks.”
If you are wondering what some of these ads look like, here you go:
Some involved in delivering this message aren’t as subtle as others. Take this statement:
“New Yorkers deserve to know the truth about the risk of cancer when drinking alcohol. To some our data may be a buzzkill, but it’s actually their buzz that can kill,” said NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin.”
“It’s actually their buzz that can KILL.”
Others involved in this campaign just want you to know it’s only about providing information:
“New Yorkers have a right to clear, accurate information about the health risks they face, including the well-established link between alcohol and cancer,” said New York City Council Member Lynn Schulman, Chair of the Committee on Health.”
Excellent! A source of information about the risks of alcohol consumption and cancer. Now we’re talking. The resources the City provides are here:
NYC.gov/alcohol
Report: Alcohol Use and Alcohol-Related Cancers Among NYC Adults
And yet, as I scoured these two sources for the City Council Member Schulman’s “clear, accurate information” concerning cancer risk from alcohol consumption, there is actually nothing to be found.
What is my risk of contracting one of the seven types of cancer associated with alcohol consumption if I DON’T drink? What is my increased risk of contracting these cancers if I DRINK A GLASS OF WINE A DAY?
Crickets. Nothing. Nada.
Over and over and over we are told by New York City’s alcohol and health authorities that drinking wine carries a risk of cancer; that it’s a “buzz that can kill”. Yet not a word concerning the actual level of risk. Crickets. Nothing. Nada.
I know why.
According to the U.S. Surgeon General’s most recent report concerning the risk of cancer from alcohol consumption, a man consuming a glass of wine per day increases their risk of these cancers by 1%. A woman consuming a glass of wine per day increases her risk of these cancers by 2%. That’s not scary. However, do you want to know what is scary:
“Drinking alcohol increases cancer risk. Alcohol is a known carcinogen: consuming even one drink a day increases the risk for at least seven types of cancer, including breast, colorectum, esophagus, voice box, liver, mouth, and throat.”
New York City’s Health Department is not unlike nearly every other public health agency or advocacy in America: They have been captured by a cabal of anti-capitalist, anti-alcohol fanatics whose entire goal is to justify draconian government controls over alcohol producers and sellers. This kind of nonsense campaign that studiously avoids any and all information about the actual risk of alcohol consumption and cancer is the giveaway.
But I do want to show you where this is all heading.
Today, the Journal of Alcohol Studies issued a press release touting a new study they published that determines “Updated alcohol warning labels may prompt people to cut back.”
The Study was conducted by Anna H. Grummon, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and her team. They determined that the following warning label message is highly effective in scaring the shit out of drinkers:
WARNING: Drinking Alcohol causes 7 cancers—mouth, throat, voice box, esophagus, liver, colon, and breast cancers
During their study, they showed drinkers multiple warning labels. Some notified the drinker of one type of cancer and some simply told drinkers they could recycle the container at an approved recycling center. Lo and behold, these researchers decided this label did a better job of scaring the shit out of people:
Who would have guessed?
But you know what label language they did not offer up to their study subjects? Something like this:
Studies show moderate alcohol consumption can
increase your risk of seven types of cancer by 1%-2%
Why didn’t they offer up this somewhat more accurate and truthful label for study subjects to rank? It’s a mystery.
This study has or will land on the desks of policymakers across the United States. It will be cited in news reports and articles. It will be cited in other academic studies that determine measures need to be taken to curb the harm created by “Big Alcohol”.
Putting hysterical and inaccurate warning labels front and center on alcohol containers isn’t the ultimate destination for anti-alcohol fanatics like the New York Department of Health and their fellow travellers. It is, however, the first stop along the way.
Tom Wark is the publisher of FERMENTATION, a source of commentary on the wine business that he has written since 2004. He is also the publisher of THE SPILL, a free, daily newsletter that curates the best wine content on the web. SUBSCRIBE TO THE SPILL FOR FREE.