Beer drinking and cancer A study using data from 41 states found a positive correlation between beer consumption per person and death rates from some forms of cancer. Th e states with the highest death rates from these types of cancer were Rhode Island and New York. Th e beer consumption in those states was 80 quarts per person per year. People in South Carolina, Alabama, and Arkansas drank only 26 quarts of beer per person and had cancer rates less than one-third of those in Rhode Island and New York.

Suggest some lurking variables that may be confounded with a state’s beer consumption.

For a clue, look at the high- and low-consumption states given above.