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# American Cancer Society Cancels Wine & Spirits Industry Gala
- URL: https://bevnews.net/american-cancer-society-cancels-wine-spirits-induststry-gala/
- Published: 2026-08-21T02:24:46.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-21T02:37:34.000Z
- Author: Joel Whitaker
- Tags: Corporate social responsibility

Your brand is a combination of everything a person knows about you. And so the American Cancer Society, whose home page immediately defaults to an appeal for donations to "help fund vital support, from 24/7 help to free lodging and rides to treatment," decided to cancel its annual "Wine & Spirits Industry Gala."

From well before 1983, when I began covering the business of alcohol beverages, the American Cancer Society has raised millions from members of the alcohol industry at the gala, which was to be this year at the Rainbow Room. 

The explanation: “The decision is part of ACS’s ongoing evaluation of how its events and fundraising activities align with its mission and prevention guidance.”

It followed a series of investigative reports titled "Deadliest Drug" by STAT News about "the toll of alcohol misuse." The reporting featured comments from public health experts and former Cancer Society executives who said the gala was an inappropriate and unsettling conflict of interest given alcohol's status as a known carcinogen. Public pressure mounted quickly, and ACS decided to cancel the proven fundraiser.

It could not be immediately determined if STAT News sought comment on its underlying thesis. The studies usually cited to support the "no safe amount" theory tend to be small, and done retrospectively. But there are at least four large studies which show the lifetime risk of a light to moderate drinker is less than the abstainer who never drank. 

At any rate, this development demonstrates the absolute importance of responding to anti-alcohol charges each and every time those charges are made. Because at the moment beverage alcohol's brand is low – and sinking lower.

## **Comment: How Should the Industry Respond?**

Given the economic woes of the industry at this moment, it's more than likely the folks who would have spent at least $1,000 and up to attend the event are just as glad the event was cancelled. 

But let me propose an alternative: Next year – or even better, this year – the industry should hold its own gala. And what should the proceeds be used for? As donations to hospitals and research programs actively seeking advanced treatment of cancer and vaccines to prevent cancer. 

Who are the five top cancer research programs and centers? University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Break Through Cancer, and Cancer Research Institute. 

While donations could be scattered across all these institutions, I would suggest all the proceeds go to **Break Through Cancer**, a first-of-its-kind collaborative research model uniting Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, MIT's Koch Institute, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to overcome traditional institutional barriers in hardest-to-treat cancers.