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In this issue:
Briefing: Some key points at Alcohol Review 2025.
News: Trump cuts predicted to have“severe” impact: EU offers “licence to hide”; Sub-Saharan harm; Zero difference
Feature: Alcohol causes cancer, Pranoti Mandrekar of the University of Massachusetts explains.
Briefing
Alcohol Review 2025: The entire programme of 14 sessions is available to watch in full at alcohol-review.com. These include a global perspective from author Grant Ennis and a local one from UK public health leader Alice Wiseman, both discussed with leading figures in the field. And dozen concise “spotlight” sessions outlining the key findings and views of prominent alcohol researchers and campaigners.
This month’s takeaways: There is room for ”Brief Interventions 2.0”; There is overwhelming support for health policy protection; the need to repeat tobacco success; and a call to ask our representatives about the alcohol deficit.
News
Trump cuts predicted to have“severe” impact: Cuts announced by the US Health and Human Services department are expected to “severely” impact efforts to reduce continued elevated levels of alcohol harm. In the right-leaning male podosphere, meanwhile, Trump-aligned Joe Rogan and tycoon-in-chief Elon Musk–architect of the Trump cuts–agreed on the logic of quitting alcohol. The level of US alcohol deaths were 17% above pre-pandemic levels last year despite a 5% year on year fall. Over 70% of these were of men.
EU offers “licence to hide”: The European Commission’s “wine package” proposals offered a “licence to hide” nutrition and ingredients information from consumers, said European Cancer Organisation’s policy chief. Alcohol Review noted that QR codes do not work.
Sub-Saharan harm: Global alcohol companies undermine public health and regulation in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a study from Norwegian NGO FORUT, which criticised Norway’s pension fund for a $13bn holding in the companies mentioned. A separate paper blamed
the delay of a bill in South Africa on “regulatory capture”.
Zero difference: Teenagers think of zero-alcohol beverages as a type of alcoholic drink, leading researchers at Australia’s Flinders University to voice concerns about exposing them to zero-alcohol branding and advertising. Public health professionals widely consider 0.0 brands as a ruse to dodge restrictions on alcohol ads.
Feature
Guest post: Alcohol causes cancer: If you ask clinicians and scientists how much alcohol is safe to drink, you might not like the answer, explains Pranoti Mandrekar of the University of Massachusetts.
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