While in Hong Kong with a few exchangers from NUS, I got into a discussion on alcohol consumption over lunch one day. One of the guys mentioned off-handedly that he wanted to be healthy into old age. In response, a friend pointed out that he should probably reconsider his rate of alcohol intake if he really intends to preserve his health long-term. He began defending his alcohol habits, saying that he is “pretty normal” at his university in terms of alcohol consumption. He kept referring to the saying, “You aren’t an alcoholic until you graduate from college.” Nevermind that I’ve never heard of that and nevermind the fact I disagree with it. Another girl in the group, who studies medicine in Hong Kong, started bringing up more biologically-inspired (rather than socially inspired) points about alcohol. She led off with, “Alcohol causes cancer.”
At first, I took her claim in the same way I take most “X causes cancer” claims. Yeahhhhh, right. I am tired of hearing about such-and-such causing cancer. The phrase is used so often it’s hard to take seriously. I even started to use it sarcastically myself a while ago, saying that “X causes cancer” if I didn’t want someone to do, drink, or eat X. It seems organizations can leverage society’s fear of cancer, in conjunction with our gullible nature, to scare people aware from, or towards, a certain product or activity. Generally, even if there is SOME link between X and cancer, the link is not causal or is so insignificant it’s not worth worrying more about than the risks taken by crossing the street. Continue reading “Alcohol and Cancer: Skeptic to Almost-Believer”