Lia DeGroot | CQ-Roll Call (TNS)
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers and industry players are asking the Department of Health and Human Services to put a stop to a controversial study on alcohol and health that could inform the next round of U.S. nutrition recommendations.
Specifically, they’re taking issue with a committee housed within HHS’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration focused on underage drinking.
The committee has plans to draft a report compiling research on alcohol intake and health, which HHS plans to use to inform the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the comprehensive document updated every five years with recommendations on how Americans should eat and drink for a healthy lifestyle. HHS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are currently drafting new guidelines for 2025 to 2030 and plan to publish them by the end of 2025.
The guidelines have long recommended that Americans limit alcohol intake to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women. But it’s unclear whether officials will recommend an even lower amount of alcohol in this round of updates in light of research suggesting that no amount of drinking is safe.
“Emerging evidence suggests that even drinking within the recommended limits may increase the overall risk of death from various causes, such as from several types of cancer and some forms of cardiovascular disease,” the current guidelines state.
Controversy over process
Earlier this year, the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking began a study on the relationship between alcohol intake and health that’s intended to inform the updated dietary guidelines.
The announcement sparked fury among some lawmakers, who argue such a study is inappropriate.
In a letter sent to USDA and HHS on Oct. 7, a bipartisan group of 100 lawmakers led by Reps. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., and Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., who serve as co-chairs of the Congressional Wine Caucus, called on the underage drinking committee to suspend the study.
“The secretive process at ICCPUD and the concept of original research on adult alcohol consumption by a committee tasked with preventing underage drinking, jeopardizes the credibility of ICCPUD and its ability to continue its primary role of helping the nation prevent underage drinking,” the lawmakers wrote.
The lawmakers and industry also argue that HHS’ study interferes with the Agriculture Department’s work in the area. Under the fiscal 2023 spending law, Congress allocated $1.3 million to USDA and directed the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to create a report on alcohol and human health that would inform the recommendations for the updated dietary guidelines.
In their letter, the lawmakers asked the committee to halt the study until the national academies completes its report.
“We question why ICCPUD would choose to redirect limited resources away from its core responsibilities that are meant to fund a national media campaign as well as offer federal grants to community coalitions and the medical community,” the lawmakers wrote.
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Source:: The Mercury News – Health
