On July 7, Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips, a popular Hepatologist based in India, took on to social media platform X and made a long post – sharing his strong disapproval of a popular podcast discussing the liquor industry in India, featuring Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha, and guests Abhishek Khaitan, Minakshi Singh, Shuchir Suri, and Suraj Shenai.
Also known by the name “TheLiverDoc”, Dr. Philips began the post with,
“So far so good. Alcohol is good business, a business that leech out others life. It rakes in money for governments through taxation & monopoly; and fattens the bank accounts of those behind the industry (like this round table group) and makes barons out of those who sell well,” said Dr. Philips
“But when these businessmen, start glorifying their business of alcohol by equating it to ‘good healthcare intervention,’ it goes definitely into the realm of health misinformation, which is why, I have to keep discussing this absolutely garbage myth that ‘alcohol in moderation is good for you’ and the absolute nonsense disclaimer to support that myth, which they call ‘drink responsibly’,” Dr, Philips continued. “To claim drinking alcohol in moderation is good, is actually a crime.” Dr. Philips added
He took exception to Kamath’s comments, believing he had improperly idolized the alcohol business by, “equating it to good healthcare intervention”. In addition, he talked about treating patients with “alcohol use disorder and related acute liver disease” on a very regular basis.
He went on to describe the destructive effects of alcohol on the body and shared disturbing examples of alcohol-related car accidents that had horrific consequences.
“Patients and families struggle to make ends meet for proper healthcare because alcohol use destroyed their life savings. And by the time they find the funds to get things going, the patient is already on the ventilator and in multiple organ failure,” Dr. Philips shared his experiences while discussing his treatment of patients struggling with alcohol-related health issues.
“Podcast discussions like these are helping no one here. Please, do something that actually helps people out here. Do something good for the society, instead of goofing up like this. No one asked for this absolute bonkers of a podcast topic. Irresponsible. The whole team,” he continued in his X post.
Earlier, TheLiverDoc had criticized Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s post recommending hydrogen peroxide nebulization for viral infections, labeling her “health and science illiterate”. Although the actor later clarified her stance with an explanatory post, the Liver Doc responded by accusing her of “playing the victim card and endorsing more alternative practices”
