A Canadian
study showed a link between beer drinking and an increased risk of lung cancer. Non-beer drinkers had no increased
risk, while wine drinkers actually had a decreased risk of lung cancer. The researchers, who did their work in the
province of Quebec, obtained "very good smoking information on subjects, so [they] were able to filter out
cigarette smoking [as a cause]."
The problems with the study as it is presented are twofold. The first is that the researchers noticed that wine drinkers had a healthier diet than beer drinkers, something other studies have shown. Diet could play a large role in overall health, including the likelihood of developing cancer.
The second problem is that even if the beer drinkers who smoked cigarettes were accounted for, they did not account for the amount of second-hand smoke that the drinkers might have been exposed to. Quebec does not have a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants, though one may take effect as early as May 31st, 2006, and beer tends to be a more popular drink than wine in bars and nightclubs. All subjects would have to be exposed to the exact same amount of smoke for conclusive evidence that it was the beer alone that raised their risk.
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