Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health hosted a media briefing to examine the health effects of alcohol consumption, including sleep issues, digestive problems, high blood pressure, and an increased risk of cancer.
While the drinking rate in the U.S. reached a new low in 2025, going along with an influx and normalization of non-alcoholic beverages across the market, researchers and physicians are increasingly concerned about alcohol’s health consequences and risks – many of which are still not well known to the general public.
Johannes Thrul, PhD, MS, is an associate professor in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and has a joint appointment at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. His research focuses on substance use and addiction.
Elizabeth A. Platz, ScD, MPH, is a professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and has a joint appointment at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Her research focuses on using molecular epidemiology to understand the mechanisms of cancer incidence and progression to identify prevention and treatment strategies.
Time stamps:
0:00 Introduction
01:21 Moderate drinking
03:58 Cancer risk
07:25 Formal guidelines
09:08 Populations at greatest risk
10:12 Holiday consumption
11:40 Southern states
12:50 Growing concerns about alcohol
14:46 Doctors’ advice
17:35 Social acceptance
19:20 Women and alcohol
21:00 Definition of alcoholic beverage
22:10 Why young people are drinking less
23:30 Occasional drinks
23:50 Family history
25:00 Alcohol advertising
26:10 Conclusions
Resources:
Elizabeth Platz
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/faculty/554/elizabeth-a-platz
Johannes Thrul
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/faculty/3542/johannes-thrul
Alcohol Causes Cancer. We Should Be Drinking Less.
medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/113908
Why Alcohol Needs a Cancer Warning Label
https://magazine.publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/why-alcohol-needs-cancer-warning-label
U.S. Drinking Rate at New Low as Alcohol Concerns Surge
news.gallup.com/poll/693362/drinking-rate-new-low-alcohol-concerns-surge.aspx
Alcohol Use and Your Health
cdc.gov/alcohol/about-alcohol-use/index.html
https://publichealth.jhu.edu
instagram.com/JohnsHopkinsSPH
facebook.com/JohnsHopkinsSPH
twitter.com/johnshopkinssph
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health hosted a media briefing to examine the health effects of alcohol consumption, including sleep issues, digestive problems, high blood pressure, and an increased risk of cancer.
While the drinking rate in the U.S. reached a new low in 2025, going along with an influx and normalization of non-alcoholic beverages across the market, researchers and physicians are increasingly concerned about alcohol’s health consequences and risks – many of which are still not well known to the general public.
Johannes Thrul, PhD, MS, is an associate professor in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and has a joint appointment at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. His research focuses on substance use and addiction.
Elizabeth A. Platz, ScD, MPH, is a professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and has a joint appointment at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Her research focuses on using molecular epidemiology to understand the mechanisms of cancer incidence and progression to identify prevention and treatment strategies.
Time stamps:
0:00 Introduction
01:21 Moderate drinking
03:58 Cancer risk
07:25 Formal guidelines
09:08 Populations at greatest risk
10:12 Holiday consumption
11:40 Southern states
12:50 Growing concerns about alcohol
14:46 Doctors’ advice
17:35 Social acceptance
19:20 Women and alcohol
21:00 Definition of alcoholic beverage
22:10 Why young people are drinking less
23:30 Occasional drinks
23:50 Family history
25:00 Alcohol advertising
26:10 Conclusions
Resources:
Elizabeth Platz
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/faculty/554/elizabeth-a-platz
Johannes Thrul
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/faculty/3542/johannes-thrul
Alcohol Causes Cancer. We Should Be Drinking Less.
medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/113908
Why Alcohol Needs a Cancer Warning Label
https://magazine.publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/why-alcohol-needs-cancer-warning-label
U.S. Drinking Rate at New Low as Alcohol Concerns Surge
news.gallup.com/poll/693362/drinking-rate-new-low-alcohol-concerns-surge.aspx
Alcohol Use and Your Health
cdc.gov/alcohol/about-alcohol-use/index.html
https://publichealth.jhu.edu
instagram.com/JohnsHopkinsSPH
facebook.com/JohnsHopkinsSPH
twitter.com/johnshopkinssph
