WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Dropping daily alcohol guidance is better for consumers
EXCERPT: The U.S. might be officially dropping its health guidance on limiting alcohol intake to two drinks per day for men and one for women. A scoop from Reuters indicates that, from sources within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a message discouraging all alcohol consumption is unlikely to be included in the pending 2025 U.S. Dietary Guidelines. Anti-alcohol advocates have been quick to frame this as a “win” for the beverage lobby, but the truth is more neutral for industry. Consumers look to be getting guidance that defers to the judgment of the individual adult based on their unique health concerns.
It is a welcome surprise that RFK went in this direction on alcohol. Kennedy and his boss, President Trump, are both sober. The HHS director has a well-documented history of substance abuse and still attends AA meetings regularly. These stories of personal triumph are inspiring, but often morph into prohibitionist thinking when such individuals enter the world of public policy.
While RFK is a bit of a regulatory control freak on added sugars and food coloring, his personal history might be playing the opposite role in how he approaches drug and alcohol policy. RFK and the MAHA movement he leads embodies a more progressive, activist politics when it comes to health guidance and regulation. This is because public health and agriculture fit into the horseshoe theory of politics, with MAHA as the meeting point between the granola liberals of yesteryear and rightward momfluencers.
“Consumer choice” is something of a punchline with this coalition, but that’s exactly the spirit of what’s happening with alcohol guidelines — personal responsibility and consulting with one’s doctor versus broad brush statements on men's and women’s health outcomes related to alcohol.
Is having no drinks per day guidance some kind of government seal of approval for binge drinking? No.
In 1980, the U.S. Dietary Guidelines proposed that Americans drink in moderation with no numerical figure attached. The revised guidance in 1990 defined “moderate” with two for men and one for women. The claim by public health advocates has long been that the beer, wine, and spirits industry lobbied for the numerical specification. Now, the exact same thing is being said about removing the specified amount. It sounds strange because it is. Both outcomes cannot be to the maximum benefit of the industry.