US Guidelines Overlook Key Drinking Risks Identified in Study

WHO:

AP News - Robert Vincent, a former Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration alcohol policy official, accused Trump’s administration of “sidelining” the research.

AP News - Amanda Berger, senior vice president of science and research for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, stated that the congressional committee's findings showed the study was "irretrievably flawed."

AP News - Robert Vincent, a former associate administrator for alcohol prevention and treatment policy at SAMHSA, stated, “The challenges confronting alcohol policy today are not rooted in scientific uncertainty. What remains contested is whether evidence will meaningfully inform policy when it conflicts with commercial interests.”

AP News - Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, stated that HHS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture “reviewed the study alongside the broader body of available scientific evidence and followed the established process for developing the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.”

EurekAlert! - Katherine M. Keyes, PhD, professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, co-authored the study and stated, “This study provides the most comprehensive U.S. estimates to date of lifetime risks of alcohol-attributable mortality and morbidity, showing that even moderate levels of consumption increase the risk of premature death and disability.”

STAT - Robert Vincent, a former associate administrator for alcohol prevention and treatment policy at SAMHSA, stated that the findings of the study are "not radical" but "rigorous — and commercially threatening."

STAT - Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, emphasized that federal officials reviewed the alcohol study "alongside the broader body of available scientific evidence."

AP News - Researchers commissioned by President Joe Biden’s administration.

AP News - Robert Vincent, a former Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration alcohol policy official.

AP News - Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

AP News - Dr. Timothy Naimi, director of the University of Victoria’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research.

AP News - Priscilla Martinez-Matyszczyk, a deputy scientific director at the Public Health Institute’s Alcohol Research Group.

AP News - Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz.

WHAT:

AP News - The Alcohol Intake and Health Study began in 2023 and was run by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

AP News - The study found that the lifetime risk of death from one drink per day is about 1 in 1,000, which climbs with consumption; at 14 drinks per week, men face a 1-in-25 chance of dying due to alcohol over their lifetime.

EurekAlert! - The study provides a benchmark indicating that alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk above one drink per day for both men and women.

AP News - The study found that even low levels of consumption, or about one drink per day, raises Americans’ chances of dying or becoming seriously ill.

AP News - The researchers recommend that current adult drinkers consume one drink or fewer a day.

EurekAlert! - The study provides a benchmark indicating that alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk above one drink per day for both men and women.

AP News - The study found that alcohol contributes to an estimated 178,000 deaths each year in the U.S.

EurekAlert! - The study provides a benchmark indicating that alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk above one drink per day for both men and women.

STAT - The Alcohol Intake and Health Study began in 2023 and was run by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

STAT - The study found that even low levels of consumption, or about one drink per day, raises Americans’ chances of dying or becoming seriously ill.

STAT - The study indicated that the lifetime risk of death from one drink per day is about 1 in 1,000, which climbs with consumption; at 14 drinks per week, men face a 1-in-25 chance of dying due to alcohol over their lifetime.

AP News - A government-commissioned study found that health risks increase with just one drink a day and that no level of alcohol has a protective effect on mortality.

AP News - The study indicated that even moderate alcohol consumption raises the risk of premature death and over 200 diseases, including heart disease and cancer.

AP News - The Trump administration did not include the study's findings in new dietary guidelines due to pushback from the alcohol industry and a congressional committee.

AP News - The new dietary guidelines advised consuming “less alcohol for better overall health.”

AP News - The researchers recommend that current adult drinkers consume one drink or fewer a day.

WHERE:

AP News - The study was published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

WHEN:

AP News - The study was released independently on a Tuesday.

AP News - The Trump administration released new dietary guidelines earlier in the year.

WHY:

AP News - The dispute over the study underscored the increasingly tense relations between the medical and scientific community and the Trump administration, which has questioned or ignored longstanding science in its policymaking.

AP News - The Trump administration's decision to withhold the study's findings has implications for public health and raises questions about scientific independence under the administration.

STAT - The SAMHSA panel found there was no net health benefit from alcohol, and that even moderate amounts carry risk, contradicting previous guidelines that suggested higher limits for men compared to women.

AP News - The study was sidelined by the Trump administration due to pressure from the alcohol industry and congressional Republicans.

AP News - Robert Vincent accused the Trump administration of prioritizing commercial interests over scientific evidence.

HOW:

EurekAlert! - Researchers reviewed more than 7,200 scientific articles on alcohol-related diseases and injuries to determine the level of risk for each condition.

STAT - Researchers used meta-analyses and data modeling to estimate alcohol-specific risks for various diseases and injuries, focusing on U.S. data representative of the national population.

AP News - The study was independently released after being commissioned by the Biden administration.

AP News - The researchers were thoroughly vetted for conflicts of interest, and their findings were deemed scientifically sound.

(UPDATED June 10, 2026 06:21 UTC)

A recent study conducted by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has sparked controversy, with Robert Vincent, a former official, accusing Trump’s administration of sidelining the research. The Alcohol Intake and Health Study, which began in 2023, found that the lifetime risk of death from consuming one drink per day is approximately 1 in 1,000, a risk that increases significantly with higher consumption levels. Amanda Berger, senior vice president of science and research for the Distilled Spirits Council, criticized the congressional committee's findings, labeling the study as "irretrievably flawed," highlighting the growing tensions between the scientific community and Trump’s administration over public health policies.

(UPDATED June 9, 2026 21:04 UTC)

A new study has found that even low levels of alcohol consumption, about one drink per day, can significantly increase the risk of serious illness or death for Americans, leading researchers to recommend that current adult drinkers limit their intake to one drink or fewer daily. Robert Vincent, a former associate administrator for alcohol prevention and treatment policy at SAMHSA, emphasized that the ongoing challenges in alcohol policy are not due to scientific uncertainty, but rather the conflict between evidence and commercial interests. This study has sparked a dispute highlighting the growing tensions between the medical and scientific community and the Trump administration, which has been known to question established scientific findings in its policymaking.

(UPDATED June 9, 2026 19:43 UTC)

A new study reveals that alcohol contributes to an estimated 178,000 deaths each year in the U.S., with findings indicating that even moderate consumption increases the risk of premature death and disability. Researchers reviewed over 7,200 scientific articles to assess the risks associated with alcohol-related diseases and injuries, establishing that consuming more than one drink per day heightens these risks for both men and women. The implications of this study are significant, especially considering the Trump administration's decision to withhold its findings, which raises concerns about public health and the independence of scientific research.

(UPDATED June 9, 2026 17:43 UTC)

A new study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reveals that even low levels of alcohol consumption, such as one drink per day, significantly increase the risk of serious illness or death for Americans. The research indicates that the lifetime risk of death from consuming one drink daily is about one in one thousand, which escalates to one in twenty-five for men who drink fourteen drinks per week. Robert Vincent, a former associate administrator at SAMHSA, described the findings as "rigorous — and commercially threatening," while a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services noted that federal officials reviewed the study alongside existing scientific evidence.

(UPDATED June 9, 2026 13:55 UTC)

A new government-commissioned study has found that health risks increase with just one drink a day, indicating that no level of alcohol offers a protective effect against mortality. The research, published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, reveals that even moderate alcohol consumption raises the risk of premature death and over 200 diseases, including heart disease and cancer, and recommends that adult drinkers limit themselves to one drink or fewer daily. This study was sidelined by the Trump administration earlier this year due to pressure from the alcohol industry, which led to the omission of its findings from new dietary guidelines that advised consuming "less alcohol for better overall health."