Selected Media Mentions
WIRED: Alcohol Is the Breast Cancer Risk No One Wants to Talk About
As October ushers in National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the social media campaign Drink Less for Your Breasts stands out like a red flag against a cheerful tide of pink ribbons, especially the ones printed on labels of alcoholic beverages. This is the time of year when some craft brewers tint their beer pink, and rosé bottles and cocktail menus display the iconic ribbon, touting companies’ donations to breast cancer organizations. Drink Less for Your Breasts reminds women that alcohol actually contributes to breast cancer risk.
Univision: Por qué hay que recordar el vínculo del que nadie quiere hablar entre alcohol y cáncer de mama
El alcohol incrementa las posibilidades de padecer cáncer de seno, el más diagnosticado en las mujeres, entre otros muchos efectos perjudiciales para la salud. Prohibirlo no es una opción, como se demostró en el pasado, pero apostar por reducir su consumo, que se incrementó notablemente durante la pandemia, sí es posible.
Healthline: Yes, Drinking Alcohol Can Increase Your Risk of Breast Cancer
“The purpose of the campaign is to raise awareness among young women that alcohol is a risk factor for breast cancer,” Priscilla Martinez, PhD, a scientist with ARG, told Healthline.
The Guardian: ‘Quarantinis’ and beer chugs: Is the pandemic driving us to drink?
Those sorts of questions are critical now, said Dr. Priscilla Martinez, a scientist studying the health effects of drinking at the Alcohol Research Group, a federally funded research center. Heavy drinking is not good for human health, under any circumstances – and recent research by Martinez, Sinha and others has shown that alcohol disrupts the immune system and compromises the brain’s stress-coping mechanisms.
WHYY/PBS: Will synthetic alcohol mean the end of hangovers?
“I don’t think the premise that we can fully separate the positive and negative effects of a synthetic substance on the brain can be fully supported by what we know about brain function, alcohol and addiction,” said Sarah Zemore, senior scientist at the Alcohol Research Group, a Public Health Institute nonprofit based in California.
Elle: We’re All Drinking Alone Now – Imbibing solo used to be cause for alarm—not so much in quarantine.
The survey didn’t provide any insight into why we’re drinking more, But Dr. William Kerr, PhD, a senior scientist with the Alcohol Research Group, told ELLE.com some people may be drinking to cope with the immense emotional and economic stress of the pandemic—which has cost many people their jobs, support systems, and even loved ones’ lives.
AP: US drinking more now than just before Prohibition
Americans are drinking more now than when Prohibition was enacted. What’s more, it’s been rising for two decades, and it’s not clear when it will fall again. That’s the picture painted by federal health statistics, which show a rise in per-person consumption and increases in emergency room visits, hospitalizations and deaths tied to drinking.
NJ1015: ‘Secondhand harms’ from marijuana? Study says they exist
“The most common kind of harm was being harassed or bothered,” said lead author William Kerr, of California-based Alcohol Research Group, at the Public Health Institute. “Family problems was the second-most common domain, followed by financial troubles.”
The Salt Lake Tribune: Want to privatize Utah liquor sales? Beware what you wish for, study warns.
Liquor prices in Washington increased by an average of 15% after privatization, said the study’s lead author, Meenakshi Sabina Subbaraman, a biostatistician with the Alcohol Research Group.
CNN: The secondhand harms of drinking impact 1 in 5 adults, study says
“One thing to think about with the one-in-five number is that it is only limited to a snapshot in time of about a year. So probably more people have actually been harmed by someone else’s drinking at other times in their life,” said Katherine Karriker-Jaffe, a senior scientist with the Alcohol Research Group at the Public Health Institute in Emeryville, California, who was an author of the study.
The Huffington Post: The Health Reason You Might Want to Enjoy Pot and Wine Separately
People who use alcohol and marijuana together may be at greater risk for alcohol-related problems, such as drunken driving and poorer health, than those who use only alcohol, a new study from biostatistician Meenakshi Sabina Subbaraman finds.
KGO 810 News: Binge Drinking in the San Francisco Bay Area
Senior Scientist William Kerr commented on a recent study that found increased rates of binge drinking in the Bay Area. He highlights reasons why the increase among women in particular.
The Daily Mail: People who use marijuana and alcohol together ‘more likely to drive inebriated’
Associate Scientist Meenakshi Sabina Subbaraman‘s new study found that people who smoke cannabis while consuming alcohol are twice as likely to drink-drive. They are also twice as likely to suffer social consequences and harm themselves.
The Science of Us/New York Magazine: Why Alcoholics Anonymous Works
“Dr. Lee Ann Kaskutas, a senior scientist at the Alcohol Research Group who has conducted 12-step facilitation studies, explained that while these programs take on different forms, they’re generally oriented toward preparing participants for the…culture and philosophy of 12-step programs like AA.”
The Washington Post: Having just one drink doubles your risk of getting injured
“A person who has consumed 3 drinks in the past six hours is about 4.6 times as likely to end up in the E.R. as someone who hasn’t drunk at all. Even a single drink roughly doubles your odds of going to the hospital.”
The Atlantic Monthly: Life with Legal Weed
“Meenakshi Subbaraman has found that cannabis satisfies six of the seven previously published criteria for substitute medications for alcohol.
Vox: The public health case for legalizing pot: it could replace alcohol
“In a recent review of the scientific literature, researcher Meenakshi Subbaraman, of the Alcohol Research Group at the Public Health Institute, found that marijuana can act as a substitute for alcohol for some people.”
KQED Forum: Panel discussion on alcohol and cancer risks
A new study finds that even moderate alcohol consumption can increase the risk of cancer-related death.
Reuters: Can a drink a day keep the doctor away?
One way to prompt better recollection in study subjects is to ask them to name specific brands of beer or vintages of wine they drink, said Tom Greenfield, scientific director of the Alcohol Research Group in Emeryville, California.
Salon: Forget the war on drugs: Alcohol ruins more lives than all other drugs combined
The reason for such a significant rise is likely due to changing social mores, according to Tom Greenfield, scientific director at the Alcohol Research Group, who spoke with Kaiser Health News. Men still drink more than women do, but women have narrowed the gap in recent years.
Newsweek: Binge Drinking: Young Women Take to the Bottle Big Time
As a result of changed social norms, it’s now more acceptable for women to drink the way men traditionally have, said Tom Greenfield, scientific director at the Alcohol Research Group at the Oakland, California–based Public Health Institute.
