A recent analysis, reported by Smithsonian, estimates that US deaths attributable to alcohol-related cancers more than doubled between 1990 and 2023, from about 11,361 to 23,126, even as overall cancer mortality fell over the same period. Colorectal, esophageal, liver, and breast cancers accounted for the largest shares. It arrives alongside continued debate over alcohol and dementia risk, and data showing binge drinking among younger adults at some of its lowest recorded levels.
We cover this plainly and without alarm, because the research is simply part of the backdrop to the cultural shift we write about. People are not moderating only for wellness-marketing reasons; a steady accumulation of findings like this one is informing real decisions about how often, and how much, to drink. Crafted AF is not a health publication, and nothing here is medical advice.
The Cr(af)ted Take
What this does not have to be is grim. The reason moderation feels different now than it did a decade ago is that choosing not to drink no longer means going without a good drink. The information is one input; the alternative is the other, and the alternative has gotten genuinely good.
That is the lane we care about. If a study nudges someone to swap a second glass for something alcohol-free, our job is to make sure that something is worth drinking, balanced, aromatic, properly made, rather than a sad afterthought. The research explains the why; the craft is what makes the choice easy to keep.
Original reporting: Smithsonian →