Why the Wine Industry Should Not Support Casey Means for Surgeon General

A look at the views on alcohol of the new nominee for Surgeon General

Given the impact that the last Surgeon General had on the culture around drinking, it’s a good idea to look at the newly nominated Surgeon General, Casey Means, MD.

As you will recall, directly before he left the building, President Joe Biden’s Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, provided the parting gift of an “Advisory” suggesting that Alcohol causes cancer. He went further to suggest that new warning labels ought to be added to containers of alcohol, saying just this.

The Advisory was without nuance, broad in its strokes, and designed to cause as much fear as possible. The media ate it up. Murthy’s announcement received more media attention than any other alcohol-related story in three decades.

This announcement will have an impact as his advisory on the subject will eventually filter into grade school, middle school, high school, university, and medical school curricula. It could also eventually lead to those warning labels.

If there was ever any doubt that a Surgeon General could have an impact on the culture and the wine industry, there is no more. So, again, it suggests we take a good look at what Dr. Means has to say about alcohol.