Believe what you will, but I was not about to cry

It's very appropriate that I heard about this while talking to a girl at some random party, where everyone was "of East Asian ancestry", pounding beers, and nursing faces as bright as tomatoes:

People whose faces turn red when they drink alcohol may be facing more than embarrassment. The flushing may indicate an increased risk for a deadly throat cancer, researchers report.

The flushing response, which may be accompanied by nausea and a rapid heartbeat, is caused mainly by an inherited deficiency in an enzyme called ALDH2, a trait shared by more than a third of people of East Asian ancestry — Japanese, Chinese or Koreans. As little as half a bottle of beer can trigger the reaction.