We must carefully distinguish between the harmful effects of alcohol on body, which are very well understood, from observable studies saying "people drinking alcohol have less of this or that", which is not causality, but correlation.
That means that those people are not healthier
because they drink alcohol. They are healthier
and drink alcohol. Thats why its important to describe the mechanism inside the body to understand what is going on, not just to observe some large group of people who are doing tons of other things.
Which is what your own source is saying:
"An association between moderate drinking and lower risk for CHD does not necessarily mean that alcohol itself is the cause of the lower risk. For example, a review of population studies indicates that the higher mortality risk among abstainers may be attributable to socioeconomic and employment status, mental health, overall health, and health habits such as smoking rather than participants’ nonuse of alcohol"
They also mention the risk of various cancer:
Alcohol is clearly established as a cause of cancer of various tissues in the airway and digestive tract, including the mouth, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus
Here, you can see they are talking about causality, not just association.
Reading just conclusions is not enough, because conclusions are frequently wrong, biased and subjective. Data and how a study was conducted is more important.
In 2023, there is not even a slight doubt about alcohol being a serious carcinogen and generally harmful to body, in any amount:
The risks and harms associated with drinking alcohol have been systematically evaluated over the years and are well documented.
www.who.int
And its not just about cancer, alcohol also damages DNA, heart, brain synapses, liver, immunity, regeneration, gut microbiome, slows down reaction time etc. All well documented.