Same drink.
Different math.
On average, women have less body water than men of similar weight. That can mean a higher blood alcohol concentration after the same amount of alcohol.
NIAAA RESEARCH ↗✳ ALCOHOL EDUCATION MADE SIMPLE.
LADY
BUZZKILL.
Ruining alcohol’s reputation with facts.
You were taught how to drink alcohol.
Nobody taught you what alcohol actually does.
QUESTION THE CULTURE. KNOW THE FACTS. MAKE INFORMED CHOICES.
AN EDUCATION IN WHAT'S REALLY IN THE GLASSSCROLL TO GET CURIOUS ↓
01 / THE REALITY CHECKREAD THE FINE PRINT ↓
THE STORY WE
weren’t sold.
Happy hour got a marketing budget. The biology got a footnote. Let’s make the footnote impossible to miss.
THERE IS A LINK BETWEENALCOHOL
& CANCER.
& CANCER.
Alcohol consumption is causally linked to several cancers. The type of drink doesn’t erase the link.
THE EVIDENCE ↗ IARC / WHOIN THE GLASSEthanolWhat that means ↗
IN YOUR BODYAcetaldehydeFollow the pathway ↗
IN THE RESEARCHEvidence, linked.See the sources ↗
02 / THE NUMBERSONE AT A TIME.
01 / UNITED STATES178,000+
Estimated deaths per year from excessive alcohol use in the U.S., averaged across 2020–2021. This estimate covers excessive use; it is not a count of all deaths involving any alcohol use.
SOURCE: CDC MMWR ↗ 2020–2021 DATA02 / WORLDWIDE200+
Diseases, injuries and other health conditions in which alcohol plays a causal role, according to the World Health Organization.
SHOW ME THE RESEARCH ↗ WHO / ALCOHOL03 / THE CANCER LINK7 SITES
IARC identifies causal links with cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, colorectum, and female breast. Colorectum is sometimes counted as two sites, colon and rectum, so counts vary by grouping.
SOURCE: IARC / WHO ↗ ALCOHOL AND CANCERMore figures will be added only after source and wording review.
03 / WHAT'S ACTUALLY IN YOUR GLASS?
IT LOOKS
LOVELY.
LET'S LOOK
AGAIN.
Your body doesn’t see chardonnay. It sees ethanol.
01 / THE DRINKBeautiful
presentation.
presentation.
02 / THE INGREDIENTETHANOL
03 / THE LIVERMetabolism
04 / THE BYPRODUCTACETALDEHYDE
05 / THE NEXT STEPACETATE
Most ethanol is broken down in the liver into acetaldehyde, a toxic compound and known carcinogen. Acetaldehyde is then usually broken down into the less toxic acetate. That’s the pathway behind the pretty glass.
READ THE SCIENCE ↗ NIAAA / ALCOHOL METABOLISM04 / WOMEN & ALCOHOLTHE SUBJECT IS BIGGER THAN A FOOTNOTE.
THE WOMEN'S FILE
ALCOHOL HITS
WOMEN DIFFERENTLY.
And somehow nobody made that common knowledge.
Different physiology. Different risks. A mountain of marketing. And some important questions research still hasn’t answered well enough.
SHOW ME THE RESEARCH ↗ NIAAA / WOMEN & ALCOHOLTHE BREAST CANCER FILE / 01SCIENCE KNOWS.
YOU CHECK
YOUR BREASTS.
DID ANYONE TELL YOU
ABOUT YOUR DRINK?
Alcohol increases breast cancer risk. NCI reports that women who drink one drink a day have a higher risk than women who drink less than one drink a week. This describes a comparison between groups, not any one person’s absolute chance of developing cancer.
SHOW ME THE RESEARCH ↗ NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTESame drink.
What do we
actually know?
Hormones, cycles, ovulation, fertility and preconception deserve careful coverage. We’ll separate established findings from associations and open questions.
SCIENCE IS INVESTIGATING.Pregnancy changes
the equation.
Prenatal alcohol exposure can affect fetal development. There is no known safe amount during pregnancy. Women deserve complete information, never judgment.
CDC RESEARCH ↗“Mommy needs wine.”
Who taught us that?
A future investigative series will examine alcohol as self-care, stress relief and empowerment. Specific campaigns and claims will be documented before publication.
EDITORIAL SERIES / IN DEVELOPMENTTHE LADY BUZZKILL EVIDENCE KEYCertainty deserves a label.
Certainty deserves a label.
People don’t.
SCIENCE KNOWS.
Strong or established evidence.
SCIENCE IS INVESTIGATING.
Promising or mixed evidence; important questions remain.
SCIENCE DOESN’T KNOW YET.
Evidence is too limited to draw a firm conclusion.
05 / MYTH VS. FACTGO ON. PICK ONE.
LET'S KILL
A FEW MYTHS.
These lines sound familiar for a reason. Select one to see what the evidence actually says.
BUZZKILLED✳
THE SHORT ANSWER
Falling asleep and sleeping well are different things.
Alcohol may help you fall asleep faster, but it can fragment your sleep and make you wake earlier.
CHECK THE SOURCE ↗ NIAAA06 / YOUR BODY ON ALCOHOLBEYOND THE LIVER
ONE INGREDIENT.
MORE THAN ONE ORGAN.
PASSING OUT ISN’T
SLEEPING WELL.
Alcohol can make falling asleep feel easier while fragmenting sleep later in the night.
SHOW ME THE RESEARCH ↗ NIAAAYOU WEREN’T ASLEEP.
YOUR BRAIN STOPPED
MAKING MEMORIES.
During an alcohol-induced blackout, a person can remain awake while the hippocampus cannot transfer experiences into long-term memory.
SHOW ME THE RESEARCH ↗ NIAAATO EXPLORE NEXTHEART & BLOOD PRESSUREGUT, PANCREAS & LIVERTEENS & THE DEVELOPING BRAINMENTAL HEALTH
07 / THE STANDARD DRINK · INTERACTIVE PREVIEW
ONE GLASS
≠ ONE DRINK.
A U.S. standard drink contains about 0.6 fluid ounces of pure alcohol. Change the pour and ABV to see why the glass can be misleading.
SHOW ME THE RESEARCH ↗ NIAAA / STANDARD DRINK08 / QUESTION THE CULTURE
“
WHY AREN'T
YOU DRINKING?
It’s a tiny question with a surprisingly big assumption behind it. Why does passing on alcohol so often come with a request for an explanation?
“I'm good, thanks.”COMPLETE SENTENCE. NO FOOTNOTES REQUIRED.
COMING LATER: THE WINE-MOM SCRIPT · DRINKING AS SELF-CARE · WHO GETS TO SAY NO
THE ONLY DRUG YOU'RE EXPECTED TO EXPLAIN NOT USING.
09 / THE EDUCATIONAL LIBRARYTHE LIBRARY IS GROWING
THE
BUZZKILL FILES.
Danielle already makes the videos. This space will bring them together by subject, with the research one click away. The first selections and links are pending her review.
01 / FEATURED TOPIC
Women & alcohol
Body, breast cancer, pregnancy and the questions still being studied.
EXPLORE THE FILE ↗02 / THE CHEMISTRYWhat's in the glass?
From a beautiful pour to ethanol, acetaldehyde and acetate.
FOLLOW THE PATHWAY ↗03 / THE BODYSleep & memory
What happens after the night begins, and what the brain may not record.
EXPLORE THE FILE ↗Danielle’s existing videos can be added here after her selections and links are confirmed.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO
HIT ROCK BOTTOM
TO GET CURIOUS.
You don’t need a label, a program, or a forever decision to learn what alcohol does. You don’t even need to decide anything today.
Information isn’t an intervention. It’s information. What you do with it is yours.
THE RECEIPTS
DOUBT IT?
GOOD. CHECK.
The claim should never be farther away than its source. These are the references behind this page. More research will appear alongside future stories.
- 01 / CDC MMWRDeaths from Excessive Alcohol Use, 2016–2021 ↗
- 02 / IARCAlcohol and cancer ↗
- 03 / NIAAAAlcohol metabolism ↗
- 04 / NIAAAHangovers and disrupted sleep ↗
- 05 / CDCAlcohol use and your health ↗
- 06 / NIAAAWomen and alcohol ↗
- 07 / NCIAlcohol and cancer risk ↗
- 08 / CDCAlcohol use during pregnancy ↗
- 09 / WHOAlcohol and more than 200 conditions ↗
- 10 / NIAAAWhat is a standard drink? ↗
- 11 / NIAAAAlcohol and the brain ↗
READY TO RUIN
ALCOHOL’S
REPUTATION?
Keep your curiosity. Bring your questions. We brought the sources.
EXPLORE THE FACTS THE BUZZKILL FILES