Let's say you are a researcher. You remain impartial, right? Here's a good example of what to look for when any statistics--or in this case no statistics--are encountered in a news article. Check credentials and look for the angles. Go read it.
In Dr. Tim Stockwell's official bio at the University of Victoria says, "Tim is committed to the advancement of public policy on substance use issues in BC. He has established CARBC [Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia] as a research centre which aims to shed light on the social, cultural and psychological determinants of harmful substance use..."
He is the Director of the Center. Think it would be around long, receive more funding, etc. if he didn't discover a causal relationship between drinking and something "bad" in the eyes of society?
Always know where stats originate. The same goes for guns and gun control. Don't let people just toss around numbers without telling you their source.
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