Here’s a sobering statistic: The number of deaths caused by alcohol-associated diseases more than doubled during the years 1999-2020. According to a study published in The American Journal of Medicine, in 2020, nearly 50,000 people, aged 25-85, died in the United States as a result of such alcohol-caused illnesses as heart disease, liver disease, and nerve damage, as compared to only 20,000 deaths attributable to alcohol in 1999. In Britain, there are reports of a surge in the number of liver disease hospitalizations, attributable to a lifetime of drinking among Baby Boomers. And now, according to a new report issued by the Office of the Surgeon General, alcohol is the 3rd leading cause of 7 different types of cancer (including breast cancer), just behind smoking and obesity. It’s estimated that 20,000 cancer deaths a year are due to alcohol consumption, and while the majority of those deaths involve drinkers who consume significant amounts of alcohol each week, about 20-25% of those deaths are among people who drink within recommended limits. Even more alarming, apparently fewer than ½ the population is aware of this link between alcohol and cancer. The connection is so alarming that the Surgeon General’s report recommends that “warnings” be put on alcohol labels, akin to those on packs of cigarettes. The current labels on bottles of alcohol (warning about risks of birth defects and dangers of operating machinery when ingesting alcohol), haven’t been updated since they were created in 1988. To read more about this report and its recommendations, pour yourself a glass of club soda and read here and here.

There is strong evidence and advocacy to support this warning by the Surgeon General and yet, at the same time, there is also evidence that may contradict at least part of the warning. Some experts echo the warnings of the WHO that there is no safe amount of alcohol to consume. According to a recent expert writing in The Conversation, while the majority of US adults consume alcohol weekly, even one drink per day can elevate your cancer risk, especially breast cancer in women. Given this ongoing level of alcohol consumption, it’s critical that consumers are at least aware of the causal connection between alcohol and cancer. At the same time, a report issued this past November by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found that moderate drinkers actually had a lower rate of all-cause mortality, as compared to those who never have consumed alcohol, suggesting that there may be some health benefits derived from alcohol. Characterizing “moderate” drinking as one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men, this report summarizes available evidence and attempts to correct for biases in previous studies that included former drinkers among those who “never drink.” However, the evidence in favor of moderate drinking is limited and suggests an association rather than causation, meaning there is no hard evidence directly showing that alcohol consumption can actually lower your risk of disease. Click here to find out about the conclusions and limitations of this report.

So how to balance out the stern health warnings against alcohol consumption with the limited evidence possibly showing some health benefit from moderate consumption? There’s no disagreement that as an older adult, alcohol consumption can cause many health problems, including sleep disturbances and exacerbation of depression and anxiety, especially post-retirement.  As an older adult, your body and brain can’t handle alcohol as they did when you were younger.  On the other hand, there are reasons to acknowledge the social and pleasurable aspects of a glass of wine or celebratory drink while having a meal or getting together with friends. Not all of life’s activities are solely focused on reducing health risks. Or, as New York Times food and wine critic Eric Asimov points out, we consume plenty of other harmful substances, such as sugary sodas and ultra-processed foods that have no warning labels. It must be acknowledged that drinkers who drink to excess or have worrisome alcohol-use disorders are putting themselves in harm’s way. (Click here to read about some of the warning signs of excessive use.) But for those who take an occasional glass of wine or beer when socializing with friends, as Dr. Leana Wen of The Washington Post suggests, “Life is about more than minimizing risk. Each person needs to make choices that optimize their overall well-being, which includes things that bring them pleasure.”