American Cancer Society Cancels Alcohol Industry Gala
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- American Cancer Society canceled its upcoming Wine and Spirits Industry's Gala, a decades-old fundraiser set for October at Manhattan's Rainbow Room, spokesperson Michele Money-Carson confirmed to STAT.
- Money-Carson said ACS "decided to sunset" the event as part of its "ongoing evaluation of how its events and fundraising activities align with its mission and prevention guidance."
- STAT had reported earlier this summer, as part of its "Deadliest Drug" series, that ACS had raised at least $22 million from wine and liquor executives over the years, creating an optics problem for the cancer charity.
- A former ACS executive told STAT the gala created an "unsettling conflict of interest," arguing it was inappropriate given alcohol's known links to cancer.
- The cancellation ends what the source describes as a "boozy Manhattan gathering" that for decades drew alcohol-industry money into a charity whose own prevention guidance counsels against drinking.
- ACS framed the move as a routine assessment rather than a reaction to outside pressure, declining to publicly rebrand or explain the shift beyond a brief emailed statement.
Why it matters: ACS had accepted at least $22 million from alcohol executives while publicly counseling Americans on cancer prevention, even as alcohol is a recognized carcinogen. Scrapping the gala closes what a former executive called an "unsettling conflict of interest" — and puts the rest of ACS's industry-sponsor portfolio in plain view the next time it asks the public to trust its prevention advice.
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