U.S. reverses course on limiting alcohol to one or two drinks a day
Critics note that while the guidelines call for "less alcohol for better health," they create vagaries for the public. New dietary endorsements for whole milk, butter, and red meat were also added.
Thousands of people pause their cocktail consumption and embrace Dry January every year. The percentage of Americans who say they drink alcohol has hit new lows. And more and more, researchers warn we should stay away from drinking all together.
But the ongoing debate over the health harms of alcohol took a turn Wednesday after the United States dropped its long-standing guidance to consume no more than one or two drinks per day. It marks a pull back in messaging for the federal government — under President Joe Biden, the U.S. surgeon general recommended adding cancer warnings to alcohol products, and reassessing limits on alcohol consumption.
During a news conference rolling out new U.S. dietary guidelines on Wednesday, Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said people should drink judiciously. Then he added it is a “social lubricant that brings people together” and “there’s probably nothing healthier than having a good time with friends in a safe way.”
Critics scoffed at the characterization, saying Oz was echoing talking points from the alcohol industry. Mike Marshall, CEO of the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance, called the statement irresponsible and said the pared-down guidelines fly in the face of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make American Healthy Again movement.
“Alcohol is a toxic, addictive carcinogen,” Marshall said. “The fact the guidelines are going backward is disappointing and alarming.”
The new guidelines call for people to “consume less alcohol for better overall health” while cautioning pregnant women, those recovering from alcohol use disorder and patients taking certain medications to avoid alcohol all together.
Previous U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines were significantly more detailed, defining moderate consumption as no more than two drinks a day for men, and one drink for women — while explaining the risks associated with heavy drinking, such as heart disease, liver disease, and some types of cancer. They also defined binge drinking as five drinks within two hours for men, and four for women.
Public health advocates said the government’s new messaging was vague and glossed over the harms of alcohol.
The new guidelines do not allow “Americans to really have any sort of sense of where the risks begin,” said Marissa Esser, a public health consultant who headed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Alcohol Program until it was disbanded by the Trump administration in April. “Americans deserve to be informed about this information in order for them to be able to make their own decisions about their drinking and their health.”
The language on alcohol was included as part of broader overhaul of dietary guidelines under Kennedy, which included calls for Americans to limit intake of processed foods while endorsing products such as whole milk, butter, and red meat.
The release of the new guidelines comes as Americans have become increasingly wary of the well-studied harms of drinking, which apart from diseases can include violence, domestic strife, and car crashes. Last year, a Gallup poll found that 53% of Americans say drinking in moderation is bad for health, the first time the polling company found a majority who feel that way.
Americans’ alcohol consumption surged during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, causing even more deaths. The number of adult drinkers also grew: Gallup found in 2022 that 67% of Americans reported drinking, the highest number in decades. Rates have since decreased, as researchers have noted a steep decline in drinking among young people.
The industry and some Republican lawmakers had pushed back against federally funded studies, including the one published in January 2025 that concluded even moderate drinking could carry health risks.
Tim Naimi, one of the co-authors of that report, noted that males who consume two drinks per week have a 1 in 25 chance of dying prematurely from alcohol. Naimi said he had hoped that guidelines would be tighter, calling for no more than a few drinks per week, or no more than one per day for men and women.
But Naimi said he appreciated that the guidelines still espouse limiting alcohol for better health. “I think that’s what the public now understands — when it comes to alcohol, the less is better,” said Naimi, director of the University of Victoria’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research.
Countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom have pushed citizens to drink less, reflecting the broader scientific consensus about the harms of alcohol, said David H. Jernigan, a Boston University professor of health law and a critic of alcohol industry marketing.
“The human body is the same no matter what country you’re in,” Jernigan said, adding: “With these vague guidelines, the alcohol industry got a really nice New Year’s present.”
The alcohol industry has struggled amid tariffs and Americans prioritizing wellness, drinking less, or embracing nonalcoholic options. Nearly 30% of U.S. consumers said they planned to spend less money on alcoholic drinks during the next three months amid tighter budgets and economic unease, McKinsey & Company reported in December.
A coalition of alcohol industry groups on Wednesday issued a cautious statement, emphasizing that guidelines have long stressed moderation and that the new version is “underpinned by the preponderance of scientific evidence.” The Beer Institute, a trade group, added that the nation’s beer industry has “championed responsible consumption for decades” and encourages moderation in drinking.
The alcohol industry worried that under Kennedy and Trump — who famously doesn’t drink — guidelines could have been stricter, said Dave Williams, president of Bump Williams Consulting, an analytics research firm that specializes in the alcoholic beverage industry.
“The latest guidelines came as more of a relief, but aren’t necessarily a fix” for the industry’s troubles, he said.