The Biden administration released a study assessing alcohol-related health risks. The Trump administration had previously chosen not to include its findings in the dietary guidelines due to resistance from the alcohol industry and a congressional committee. Published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, the study aligns with prior research. It states even one drink daily raises health risks, increasing the likelihood of early death and over 200 diseases, including heart disease and cancer.
Originally, two government reviews were supposed to guide new dietary guidelines. The latest guidelines suggest less alcohol consumption for improved health. The study authors argue this lacks detailed advice on risks associated with drinking. A photo from a state liquor store in Salt Lake City illustrates the issue at hand.
One official from Biden’s administration alleged Trump’s administration sidelined the study, although the latter denies this. Robert Vincent, former Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration official, accused the Trump administration in an editorial accompanying the study. Vincent, who was laid off during a government workforce reduction, emphasized that alcohol policy challenges stem from policy conflicts with commercial interests rather than scientific uncertainty.
The dispute highlights tensions between the scientific community and Trump’s policies, often dismissing longstanding science and impacting U.S. medical advancement. The alcohol industry and Republican congress members disputed the study’s findings after a draft report circulated. A House oversight committee report criticized the study, citing bias and preconceived conclusions.
Emily Hilliard, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), stated the department reviewed the study alongside other scientific evidence when developing the 2025–2030 dietary guidelines. She indicated the guidelines rely on the full scientific record.
Vincent assured The Associated Press that researchers were vetted for conflicts of interest and that the findings were scientifically valid. He reported being pressured to cancel the study but did not comply. The HHS declined to comment on this claim.
The Trump administration’s dietary guidelines, urging less alcohol for better health, don’t contradict the study, according to researchers. Still, they assert a more detailed recommendation should advise adults to limit consumption to one drink a day.
Dr. Timothy Naimi, director of the University of Victoria’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, noted the importance of providing explicit consumption quantities for effective guidelines. The study diverged from another government-commissioned study suggesting moderate alcohol use lowered overall mortality but increased some disease risks.
Priscilla Martinez-Matyszczyk, study co-author, clarified their research focused on alcohol-specific mortality to remove confounding variables. She addressed the view that alcohol serves as a social lubricant with health benefits, as posited by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. Martinez-Matyszczyk indicated social and health effects have not been distinctly isolated in studies.
The study’s conclusions mirror other recent findings, such as a 2019 Lancet study linking moderate drinking to increased stroke and hypertension risks, with no health benefits. Earlier research supported moderate drinking’s heart benefits, but newer methods disproved those claims. Adjusting for education, income, and healthcare access, the perceived benefits vanished.
Approximately half of Americans aged 12 or older consumed alcohol in the past month, making it the most used addictive substance nationwide. One drink equals a 12-ounce beer, a 5-ounce wine glass, or a liquor shot.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, solely assumes content responsibility.