Hey, that, welcome to paging Dr. Gupta.

This is the show where I get to address your health concerns.

My producer, Jennifer, is back with us today.

Who do we have up first?

Hi, Sanjay.

We have a 57-year-old listener from Southern California with a question about alcohol and cancer.

Here's what he wants to know.

Hi, Dr. Gupta.

I'm a fan of your Chasing Life podcast.

My name is Ed.

And what I would like to know is if we drink a lot less alcohol, how much of a difference

does that make? And also, if we drink,

for instance, non-alcoholic beer, does that avoid the risks of cancer related to alcohol

entirely? Well, this is a great question, Ed. I got to say, first of all, I've cut way back on my drinking as well.

I think a lot of people have.

We've all heard that drinking is obviously not great for health.

And, Ed, you might have already heard that studies show alcohol consumption can increase risk of certain types of cancer.

But, you know, I realize this is hard for a couple

of reasons. First of all, people often drink when they are socializing, when they are networking,

when they are celebrating. It is a part of many global cultures. And at the same time, we don't

often know how to contextualize how big of a risk factor alcohol is on things like cancer. What I can tell you is this.

There is a shifting trend happening in the United States. A 2025 Gallup poll showed only 54% of

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