My point is to make the strong case that alcohol has a causal relationship with cancer, instead of what has been a common belief that alcohol only causes diseases that can themselves lead to cancer. Feel free to push back here, although I'll always defer to studies because I am not an oncologist.
I tried to be careful about the language I used regarding deaths re the 5.8% vs 4%* stat: alcohol consumption is a contributing factor to 5.8% of cancer deaths. It's not causing 5.8% of cancer deaths, it is a contributing factor / co-morbid to the 5.8% of deaths from cancer, whatever their origin. TLDR: if you have cancer, that's extra reason to quit drinking.
Here is that journal article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26455822/ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijc.29890
Your point in general is well taken and the added context to correctly scale both lifestyle vs genetic factors and the relative risk of dying from cancer is important to keep in mind.
Having seen two people die from cancer in the last ~12 months, I agree with your take on going out quick. Medically assisted suicide is an emotionally challenging topic but morally speaking, it feels fairly cut and dry to me.
On a personal note, I am more than willing to own that I do things that damage my health, including carrying a bit too much body fat, not sleeping enough, and indulging in the occasional toke of adventure lettuce. My point is: don't be that guy who says "like, man, weed is good for you bro" when it's clearly shown that inhalation of volatile compounds like smoke damages the lungs.
Cellular damage is going to be amassed by living, period, and as it stands today, we do not have sufficient technology to undo free radical damage to our DNA, although this field of medicine is rapidly improving (exciting). Breathing, eating, even exercise (muscle catabolism) cause free radical damage.
The question that we're all chewing on here is: are there benefits that outweigh the costs of the free radical damage associated with XYZ (alcohol, breathing, hypertrophy training, etc). I'm suggesting we all get real about the science (alcohol directly causes cancer) and the trade offs, which, on balance, imo, outweigh its benefits.
* Edit: I think people in general would still be surprised by the 4% of cancer deaths stat. Again, worth noting it's not binary, e.g. one drink != 4% chance to die from cancer, so I really do not mean to inflate the scale of impact in any way here, but I do think this myth that alcohol is healthy needs to die from our public consciousness, even if I can guarantee that it won't (cuz booze, wooohooo).