Around a year back, there were ongoing deliberations within US bureaucratic circles about incorporating an anti-alcohol stance into the nation’s 2025 Dietary Guidelines policy. Fast forward to today, the watchful eyes of the government have eased on alcohol, pushing it off the radar until the next half-decade at least. The nation’s nutritional guidelines undergo an overhaul every five years, and as such, the imminent revision was anticipated this year. The build-up to these changes spread over several years, punctuated by suggestions for appropriate levels of alcohol consumption which typically found themselves nestled next to food-related recommendations.
Ever since their inception, these guidelines have held steady the notion that men can safely consume up to two drinks a day and women can have one. However, recent times saw hints within the federal structure that the impending guidelines might introduce an advisory stating ‘no level of alcohol is congruent with a healthy living style’. This verbiage echoed sentiments from the World Health Organization, which in 2023 declared that ‘no level of alcohol is safe’. This announcement sparked a fiery discourse over alcohol’s role – beneficial, detrimental, or ineffectual.
Differing viewpoints battled in the research world, with some scientists arguing that a moderate amount of alcohol could result in lower mortality rates, while others pointed to studies identifying links between alcohol and cancer. Regardless of these varying research outcomes, the government’s plans to decree a ‘no safe level’ label to alcohol stirred worry. The alterations to the dietary guidelines were under the supervision of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The task of managing the alcohol-related aspects fell on the largely unknown Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD).
ICCPUD was assigned the responsibility to review the health impacts of alcohol consumption, but the impartiality of the committee was called into question. It was discovered that a significant percentage of the six-member research team were openly anti-alcohol advocates residing outside the United States. Therefore, the verdict on the appropriateness of alcohol consumption seemed to have been given to a group of prejudiced international scholars with no answerability.
The prospect of a ‘no safe level’ proclamation was alarming to the alcohol industry, as the prevailing public opinion concerning alcohol’s health effects had already started tilting negative, particularly among younger cohorts. Such a decree could potentially accelerate this shift and even trigger a series of collective legal actions against the beverage industry. In the face of this veiled attempt to inject a new prohibitionist theme into American dietary norms, Congress stepped in to meet its duty as a monitor.
It proceeded to task the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) with creating a distinct report on the health repercussions of alcohol intake. The report acknowledged that moderate drinking could increase the risk of certain cancers but countered by stating that it decreases the risk of heart disease thus reducing overall mortality. The pressing question remained: How to tackle the initial ICCPUD draft report? The all eyes lay on the newly inducted HHS Secretary, whose stance on the dietary guidelines’ treatment of alcohol remained unreachable.
As the silent anticipation heighted, in early fall, a bombshell dropped – plans were underway to cut off funding to the ICCPUD. Following closely was the news that ICCPUD’s initial draft report would no longer wield influence over the 2025 dietary guidelines revisions. The assumption now is that the alternate NASEM report will shape these modifications, though there is uncertainty around whether alcohol will be addressed in the guidelines at all.
In retrospect, the events unfolded somewhat favorably for the alcohol industry and U.S. alcohol consumers. While the science of alcohol will surely continue to be a topic of heated debate in the years to come, transparency in the decision-making process is crucial.
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