'Trump Administration Dismissed Health Officials Who Wanted To Tighten Alcohol Guidelines, According To Sources, Document' - Reuters Exclusive

Benzinga · 3d ago
  • Alcohol advice was updated in the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
  • Health officials wanted to halve recommended drinking limits for men to one drink per day
  • Trump Administration instead removed serving guidance altogether
  • Reversal followed firings, multi-year industry lobbying campaign

LONDON/NEW YORK, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Last spring, a group of officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was drafting a proposal to halve the recommended limit for alcohol consumption for men to one drink a day, according to two former government sources and a document seen by Reuters.

"Alcohol is known to cause cancer," the health officials wrote in the draft version of their proposal reviewed by Reuters. The group was tasked with leading an update to alcohol advice in the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the U.S. government's roadmap to healthy drinking and eating that influences school lunches, medical advice and other policies.

The draft proposal added that if both men and women had one or fewer drinks per day it could save thousands of U.S. lives per year. Advice for women would have remained the same at one drink per day.