Drinking alcohol causes cancer – at least seven different types of it, says the Surgeon General. It can also cause a slew of other chronic diseases – liver disease, heart disease, dementia, diabetes, and obesity to name a few. So with this administration making a lot of noise about making America healthy and reducing the harm of chronic diseases, it’s more than a little strange to see HHS killing a major scientific report on alcohol and cancer.

But reports emerged yesterday to confirm they have done just that. Vox broke the story, confirming with three authors of the report that the administration is simply discarding it. It took years to painstakingly review the evidence and produce the report.

Successful Lobbying

Writing for Vox, Dylan Scott called this news a mark of success for intense lobbying by the alcohol industry to tamp down concerns about alcohol and health. He explained:

“Why assert so much pressure? It makes sense if you look at the headwinds the alcohol industry faces. Americans today are drinking less. This year, Gallup recorded a historic low in the percentage of US adults who drink: 54 percent, down from 67 percent in 2022.

“Though the vibes around alcohol are shifting, a lot of people still don’t fully understand alcohol’s health consequences. Surveys have found that while the percentage of Americans who know that alcohol is a carcinogen has been rising, it is still below 50 percent.”

Alcohol Is Not a Priority

It is becoming clear that, even though alcohol’s harm to American health is great, it is not a priority in RFK’s quest to make America healthy. Reuters reports that mentions of alcohol will be removed from new dietary guidelines. In the 2020 guidelines, the recommendation was a limit of one or two drinks per day. If Reuters is correct, that will disappear soon.

Mike Marshall, CEO of the Alcohol Policy Alliance, explained why the industry is lobbying hard on this:

“The thing that the alcohol industry fears more than increased taxes is increased knowledge about the risks associated with drinking alcohol, particularly around cancer.”

Given popular trends to shun alcohol, it does not appear that the campaign to suppress information on alcohol and health is doing much for the industry. Not unless you count the wealth it’s creating for the lobbying industry.

Click here for the report in Vox and here for the report in Stat.

Bénédictine, advertising art by Leonetto Cappiello / WikiArt