Arnon Grunberg

Bowel cancer

Cars

On labels and risks – The Economist:

‘For many people, the new year brings both a banging hangover and a solemn resolution never to get drunk again. More than a decade ago Alcohol Change uk, which campaigns to cut drinking, launched its “Dry January” campaign. This year it reckons a third of British men will try to stick to it.
In America Vivek Murthy, the surgeon-general, is also keen to discourage drinking. Dr Murthy has recommended placing warnings on alcohol to highlight the fact that it raises the risk of some cancers, including breast and bowel cancer. If so, America could become the third country, after South Korea and Ireland, to require labels.’

(…)

‘In 2023 Canada published guidelines recommending two drinks (roughly two cans of beer) a week for those who want to remain in the “low risk” category, down from 15 a week for men and ten for women.
It is all very sobering. But over-zealousness can be counter-productive. Taken literally, the who implies that it is unsafe to have even a sip of communion wine. If one bit of public-health advice seems absurd, people may start to doubt other bits, too.
And although there is unanimity that heavy drinking is very bad for you, there is less agreement around light indulgence. In December America’s National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine concluded, with “moderate certainty”, that moderate drinking (up to two cans of beer a day for men or one for women, as per official American advice) was associated with benefits rather than harms.’

(…)

‘After all, there is no completely safe level of almost anything, from flying to going on a date. Walking is good for you, and touted at book length by the surgeon-general (“Step It Up!”). But 7,500 American pedestrians were killed by cars in 2022.’

(…)

‘For all but the most risk-tolerant, the middle-class habit of downing half a bottle of wine with dinner is worth examining.’

Read the article here.

Would two glasses of wine be the equivalent of half a bottle? Almost, I guess. We will examine the habit. You can be too middleclass.
Maybe dry Tuesdays? (Trump is as well-known a teetotaler, but that doesn’t discredit teetotalers.

The risk-free life can be found in the cemetery, like eternal peace, see under: Kant.

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