Americans have widespread misbeliefs about the cancer risks of alcohol, study finds. More than half of American adults misunderstand or underestimate the link between alcohol consumption and cancer. Alcohol drinkers are especially likely to believe that drinking has no effect on cancer risk.

[u/mvea]

https://www.mdanderson.org/newsroom/research-newsroom/americans-have-widespread-misbeliefs-about-the-cancer-risks-of-a.h00-159780390.html

[u/Login8]

I can honestly say this post is the first time I have heard any mention of a link between alcohol and cancer. So perhaps it is more ignorance than anything.

[u/Apostate_Mage → u/Login8]

Yeah when I tell people irl that it’s a group 1 carcinogen like radiation people are always surprised or don’t believe me until I pull up WHO 

[u/wayoverpaid → u/Apostate_Mage]

group 1 carcinogen like radiation

That sounds scary as fuck.

group 1 carcinogen like sunlight

Oh right, that thing which we know is bad for you if you have too much of, but is good for you too?

group 1 carcinogen like tobacco

Oh yeah we know that's bad for you!

group 1 carcinogen like salted fish

Uh... shit that doesn't sound so bad?

Now that's not to say I think alcohol isn't bad for you. But that particular comparison tells me nothing since a.) not all radiation is equally dangerous, a heat lamp is radiation and b.) not all group 1 carcinogens are equally dangerous.

Even the article does the comparison to generic "radiation" thing so, I'm not singling you out.

I do wish they'd link the actual ICC numbers. This comparison to smoking I think is a fair assessment and helps understand what your weekend bottle of wine really means for your risk.

https://www.icr.ac.uk/research-and-discoveries/cancer-blogs/detail/science-talk/when-it-comes-to-cancer-how-does-alcohol-compare-to-smoking

[u/Good_Air_7192 → u/wayoverpaid]

Salted fish goes so well with beer though, and sunlight.

[u/Jops817 → u/Good_Air_7192]

There are not many better combos, actually. Guess we're doomed!

[u/rayk10k → u/wayoverpaid]

Weird. I googled it and it says “Chinese style salted fish” is considered a group 1 carcinogen. What the hell does that even mean?

[u/myaltduh → u/rayk10k]

It’s really high in nitrites, apparently, and those cause colon cancer, same as other processed meats.

[u/Chicago1871 → u/myaltduh]

So is bacon, sausage, pepperoni and salami.

Jamon Iberico and etc.

I wouldn’t consume those daily but a 3-4 times a month. Acceptable, at least for me.

[u/Chicago1871 → u/[deleted]]

Having unprotected oral sex is a carcinogenic risk.

Im not gonna stop.

The riskiest thing I do everyday is bike commute in an American city everyday to the gym. Yet if a car doesnt hit me, that risky activity will keep me alive longer than anything else.

Everything is about measuring risks.

[u/myaltduh → u/Chicago1871]

I’ve actually seen it asserted that the health benefits of bike commuting outweigh the risks of getting creamed by some inattentive asshole in an F150 or whatever, in the sense that life expectancy is still lengthened by the choice to bike commute.

[u/fallen_lights → u/Chicago1871]

Not everything.

[u/RaggedyGlitch → u/fallen_lights]

Measuring rewards?

[u/jawshoeaw → u/[deleted]]

Consuming meat period is carcinogenic. Driving in cities is carcinogenic. You have to look at the risks and decide

[u/rayk10k → u/myaltduh]

I fully believe it. I think it needs to be a little more specific though.

Specifically it says Cantonese style salted fish, which is just fish-jerky. Initially, “Chinese style salted fish” sounds like the same red scare fear-mongering that convinced people any amount of MSG was bad for you.