> Sunlight is a carcinogen

But sunlight is essential for the cutaneous conversion of 7-dehydrocholesterol to vitamin D3, whereas ethanol serves no essential purpose, irrespective of whether one enjoys it or not.

Personally I don’t consume ethanol; but I don’t care if others do or not so long as they stay off the roads and are not piloting my flight.

I will say that when I did consume ethanol even in small quantities, my sleep was much worse than it is at baseline; and that effect only worsened as I got older.

Ethanol is food— you also don't need carbs, but they do keep you alive. More importantly, it fairly central to cultural vitality. Not essential but it plays a highly functional role. Maybe could be replaced by religion or other drugs, but short of that, the world is less vibrant without it.