Wine and alcohol

Over the past few days a lot has been said about the European Parliament’s decision in regard to wine consumption and its connection to cancer. It is interesting to read what The Lancet magazine wrote, which was the basis of the “threat”. This was brought to our attention in a letter from the Marche producer Antonio Terni.

The news from Brussels was fairly positive for Italian wine, as well as others. The European Parliament essentially accepted the modifications put forward by Italian MEPs to the text of proposals presented by the BeCa (Beating Cancer) committee, which we have dealt with in previous editorials. The need for messages on wine labels to be invitations for moderate consumption was essentially accepted, and thus the recognition of the difference between use and abuse, and this was the most important aspect. I’m sure that no one in the world of wine would want to underestimate the problem of alcoholism nor the medical consequences of alcohol abuse. Nevertheless, to demonize the moderate consumption of wine would be very grave and unjust. This also in consideration of the fact that in just over 40 years the per capita consumption of wine in Italy has dropped from almost 100 liters a year to just over 40, a fact that few remember and which demonstrates how wine consumers know how to regulate themselves without the need for new laws. The reasons for this decline involve changes in diet, a greater consumption of alternative beverages, often non-alcoholic, along with the fact that the levels of wine quality and prices are higher today than they were decades ago.

To make the point clearer, I would like to publish a letter I received from Antonio Terni, a very skilled and famous Marche wine producer who owns the Fattoria Le Terrazze estate, for you to judge. For me, it is a very interesting contribution.
 

Caro Daniele,

In view of the EU committee’s threats on the danger of alcohol causing cancer, I went and read the article published in The Lancet that was at the base of these threats. It is not easy to read for the average person because it is full of facts and technical jargon, nevertheless, some it its conclusions are clear:

In other words, if 741,000 is 4.1% of 18 million, then 100,000 cases caused by “moderate consumption” represents 0.56% of the total number of cancer cases.

What this means, from another point of view, is that 95.9% of cancer cases are not caused by alcohol and 99.44% are not caused by moderate consumption of alcohol.

It would be thus better for the EU committee to focus on the causes for the 95.9% of cancer cases (poor diet, air and water pollution, asbestos, genetics…) and leave wine producers alone.

Sincerely yours,

Antonio Terni