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On this Skeptical Sunday, Jessica Wynn reveals how Big Alcohol ran Big Tobacco's playbook to sell you a Group 1 carcinogen as self-care. Cheers!
Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we’re joined by writer and researcher Jessica Wynn!
Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1351
On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:
- Group 1 means top-shelf danger. Strip away the vineyard branding and alcohol is just ethanol, a carcinogen shelved beside asbestos and plutonium, causally tied to at least seven cancers. The WHO now states what almost no drinker realizes: there is no safe level.
- Why the red wine health halo crumbles under real scrutiny. The studies that crowned moderate drinking heart-healthy were warped by the sick-quitter flaw, lumping already-ill ex-drinkers in with lifelong abstainers. Apply stronger genetic methods and the protective effect simply vanishes.
- How the industry runs Big Tobacco's playbook down to the same PR firms. invent personal responsibility as a liability shield, coin Drink Responsibly, fund flattering research, and lobby cancer warnings off labels that have not changed since 1988.
- Who profits and who absorbs the damage. Alcohol factors into 40 to 60% of violent crime and roughly 13,000 traffic deaths a year, at a cost near $380 billion, yet the harm falls hardest on women and lower-income communities while the industry stays insulated.
- What actually works is already proven. Scotland's minimum pricing cut alcohol deaths, cancer-specific warning labels shift behavior, and medications like naltrexone curb cravings. Gen Z is drinking less and building real sober-friendly spaces. Learn the facts, then decide for yourself.
- Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!
- Connect with Jessica Wynn at Instagram (and Instagram!), and subscribe to her newsletters: Between the Lines and Where the Shadows Linger!
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