Pediatrician and medical school professor Aaron Carroll responds to research showing that even light drinking may increase the risk of certain kinds of cancer. He points out that the increased risk appears be tiny and practical terms, and the research also shows a decreased risk of other cancers, as well as other benefits and harms involving diseases other than cancer. This doesn’t mean that the studies aren’t valid, only that reporting just the bad news and failing to include other relevant information (such as the size of the absolute risk) can be very misleading.

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