Health guidelines in the US.: a shift towards recommending moderate alcohol consumption

The rumor had been circulating for some time. But now, among considerable controversy, it’s becoming clear that the upcoming revision of the U.S. health guidelines, expected by the end of 2025, will no longer take into account “Alcohol Intake and Health Study” by the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking, which supported the “no safe level” theory of alcohol consumption. Instead, the guidelines will be informed by a different report, drafted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which, according to many, and not without debate, supports the idea that moderate alcohol consumption may actually have positive effects on overall health. This has been reported, among others, by the authoritative American newspaper “The New York Times”.
Political debate is already fueling, among those who argue that studies like the Committee’s are too alarmist such as the group “Science Over Bias,” which includes organizations representing alcoholic beverage, hospitality, and wine industries such as “Wine America”, “Wine Institute”, “Wine & Spirits Guild of America”, and “Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America”. On the other hand, there are critics who claim that reports such as that by National Academies is influenced and guided by the alcohol industry. But, regardless of this, the fact remains that a country as important for the alcohol market as it is for its political influence, as the United States, seems to be marking a clear change of direction on the issue of managing the relationship between alcohol and health, giving a push to supporters of more restrictive consumption regimes and support to those who advocate the benefits of moderate consumption.