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An author of this paper was directly paid by an alcohol distributor outside of this study. From the Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Stockwell reported rec

An author of this paper was directly paid by an alcohol distributor outside of this study. From the Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Stockwell reported receiving personal fees from Ontario Public Servants Employees Union (OPSEU) for expert witness testimony and personal fees from Alko outside the submitted work. Dr Sherk reported receiving grants from Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) during the conduct of the study. No other disclosures were reported. Alko Inc is the national alcoholic beverage retailing monopoly in Finland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alko https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alko Just because they claim the conflict doesn't mean it's not influencing the study. In fact using the same philosophical criteria they use for this study attempting to eliminate "systematic biases that affect many studies" we should throw this one out, as having a commercial interest tied to anyone of the group should cause us to question the systemic bias within the study group. edit: Thanks to CoolGuySteve for also pointing out that OPSEU is the union for Ontario's government run liquor store, LCBO

ornornor 4y ago
Amazing, thanks for sharing the information. I don’t see how anyone can take this study seriously then.
CoolGuySteve 4y ago
OPSEU is the union for Ontario's government run liquor store, LCBO. IMO, the LCBO does a terrible job at limiting the social and health impact of alcohol anyways and this stunt is yet another argument for disbanding it altogether.
mil22 4y ago
The title of this HN post is misleading and the conclusion of this study is actually bad for alcohol sales. They found low and moderate alcohol intake was not protective, confirming other similar studies, and at higher levels it increased the risk of death (no surprise). So the conflict of interest does not seem relevant. It's hard to see how getting paid to consult for a company in the business of selling alcohol is a conflict when you're publishing a paper confirming alcohol consumption isn't good for you. "In this updated systematic review and meta-analysis, daily low or moderate alcohol intake was not significantly associated with all-cause mortality risk, while increased risk was evident at higher consumption levels, starting at lower levels for women than men."

ornornor 4y ago

Amazing, thanks for sharing the information. I don’t see how anyone can take this study seriously then.

CoolGuySteve 4y ago

OPSEU is the union for Ontario's government run liquor store, LCBO. IMO, the LCBO does a terrible job at limiting the social and health impact of alcohol anyways and this stunt is yet another argument for disbanding it altogether.

mil22 4y ago

The title of this HN post is misleading and the conclusion of this study is actually bad for alcohol sales. They found low and moderate alcohol intake was not protective, confirming other similar studies, and at higher levels it increased the risk of death (no surprise). So the conflict of interest does not seem relevant. It's hard to see how getting paid to consult for a company in the business of selling alcohol is a conflict when you're publishing a paper confirming alcohol consumption isn't good for you. "In this updated systematic review and meta-analysis, daily low or moderate alcohol intake was not significantly associated with all-cause mortality risk, while increased risk was evident at higher consumption levels, starting at lower levels for women than men."