Can the Wine Industry Muster the Will To Push Back on Propaganda?

What's needed to push back is simple

There is no formal effort underway within the adult beverage industry to push back against the one-sided anti-alcohol campaign that has been underway for years now. The result is article after article after article authoritatively declaring that consuming wine, beer, and spirits is not just bad, but likely to kill you—or at least give you cancer.

There is no organized media outreach or public relations effort aimed at pointing out the bad science, the biased “researchers”, the conveniently ignored positive data, or the benefits that come with the moderate and responsible consumption of adult beverages.

I’ll explain why this is and why this is a mistake below. But first, I want to point out what having no such formal pushback mechanism has resulted in:

What Exactly Is Moderate Drinking —New York Times (10/11/24)
”While the specifics remain unsettled, there is one thing most experts have come to agree on. “Less is more; less is better,” Dr. Stockwell said. “Drink less; live longer.”

Eight Things We’ve Learned About How Alcohol Harms The Body — National Geographic (9/6/24)
”Alcohol is a group-1 carcinogen, linked to cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, colorectum, and breast. In 2023, the World Health Organization declared there is no safe amount of alcohol to consume—adding that there’s no evidence that the potential cardiovascular benefits of a glass of red wine outweigh its cancer risks.

What a Month Without Alcohol Really Does to Your Body — The Telegraph (10/1/24)
”Countless studies have shown links between excessive drinking and cancers, heart failure and diabetes, among other chronic health issues.”

Alcohol Can Increase Your Cancer Risk-What Experts Say About How Much is Too Much — CBS NEWS (9/30/24(
"There really isn't a safe amount of alcohol for consumption," she said. "In fact, it's best to not drink alcohol at all, but that is obviously hard for many people. So I think it's really important for individuals to just be mindful of their alcohol consumption and certainly drink less."

Drinking Alcohol Increases the Risk of Six Different Types of Cancer — EveryDay Health (9/26/24)
”Although for a time, some experts believed that light to moderate alcohol use (like a glass of red wine at dinner) was good for you, the science has evolved. Health organizations, including the World Health Organization, now believe that no level of drinking is safe.”

How Much Alcohol is Safe To Consume? — KQED (9/12/24)
”For years, people felt good drinking a glass or two of red wine for the supposed health benefits, but last year the World Health Organization declared that “no level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health.”

Alcohol Needs to Come With Cancer Warning Labels — Delish (9/30/24)
”One study in the AACR report says that alcohol contributes to 5.4% of overall cancer diagnoses, while the National Cancer Institute argues that there's a "strong scientific consensus that alcohol drinking can cause several types of cancer." The World Health Organization has also identified alcohol as a carcinogen and claims that any amount is unsafe.”

Alcohol Consumption is Linked To Six Types of Cancer, Experts Say: ‘It’s Toxic’ — Fox News (9/28/24)
”Scioli agreed, emphasizing that "we can definitely say there's no added health benefit to ingestion of alcohol. The line between safety and danger is debatable, and is different for each person." While risk factors like tobacco use are widely known, public awareness about the link between alcohol and cancer is still low, according to Sengupta.”

Six Things I Avoid As a Heart Surgeon For My Own Heart Health — Today (10/7/24)
“Alcohol is toxic to every cell in your body,” he says. “I think that alcohol is going to be the new cigarette smoking.”

Alcohol Needs To Come With Health Warning Labels, Expert Says — Prevention (10/424)
”According to new research from the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), alcohol is linked to six types of cancers, including breast, liver, esophageal, stomach, bladder, head, and neck cancers. In fact, one study in the AACR report says that alcohol contributes to 5.4% of overall cancer diagnoses, while the National Cancer Institute argues that there's a "strong scientific consensus that alcohol drinking can cause several types of cancer." The World Health Organization has also identified alcohol as a carcinogen and claims that any amount is unsafe.”

These are just a smattering of articles in the last month that declare adult beverages to be uniformly harmful, if not deadly. And with few exceptions, there is no questioning of the claims made in this collection of media accounts.