The NY Times recently had an article with the sensational headline “Deep Links Between Alcohol and Cancer Are Described in New Report.” The article references a new report by the American Cancer Society that recommends – amongst other things – that people moderate their alcohol consumption as a way to reduce their cancer risk. The article then goes on to talk at great length about the worrisome rise in cancers among people under age 50 over the past two decades. Unless you are paying close attention, you would walk away from the article with the understanding that new research proves that alcohol consumption is causing a lot of cancer in young people. Of course, this theory would make no sense (I’ll explain why in a bit). More importantly, it is not an accurate reflection of the report.
This article is a great example of the “Academic-Media Complex” that I’ve discussed before (in which the press prints stories that border on outright dishonesty just to get more clicks/sales/views), as well as the tendency for medical research to take a myopic view of an issue, rather than focusing on the big picture of human health.
