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How the alcohol industry puts policy on ice
Each year, the American Cancer Society raises hundreds of thousands from the wine and spirits industry through an annual fundraising gala featuring free-flowing booze like pineapple margaritas. That may seem like an odd event for the health nonprofit, given mounting research on the links between alcohol consumption and cancer risk. But it’s just one of many striking examples (“shocking, actually,” according to one Tufts University professor) that Isa Cueto and Lev Facher identify in their latest dispatch from The Deadliest Drug series — this one focused on the alcohol industry’s behind-the-scenes tactics for influencing public policy.
Read on to find out more details like which senator (a Democrat) received more donations from alcohol groups than any other as the industry panicked over potential changes to the dietary guidelines, and alcohol companies’ surprising connections with Mothers Against Drunk Driving. And if you need some catching up on Isa and Lev’s blockbuster alcohol series, check out their biggest takeaways so far.
