In March 1933 millions of Americans toasted President Franklin D. Roosevelt after he repealed the Prohibition. National morale was at rock bottom amid the Great Depression, so the new president declared: ‘I think this would be a good time for a beer.’
Ninety-two years later, the spectre of prohibition looms over the nation once again. This time, the new president is an avowed teetotaller. Donald J. Trump, the former star of The Apprentice, has already said ‘you’re fired!’ to several agency heads as he begins to reshape the government in his image.
One outgoing heavyweight is the US surgeon general, Dr Vivek Murthy. He was dismissed by President Trump in 2017 before Joe Biden reinstated him to the role four years later. Dr Murthy is now leaving once again, but not before firing a parting shot at winemakers. Earlier this month, he called for stronger warning labels on alcoholic drinks, akin to those placed on cigarette packs.
Some may view this as a draconian step, but Dr Murthy believes these labels would alert drinkers to the risks of cancer. He warned that alcohol contributes to approximately 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 related deaths annually in the US. Dr Murthy underscored a particular connection between alcohol consumption and cancers of the breast, colon and throat, even at levels deemed ‘moderate’ by current dietary guidelines.
‘Many people assume that drinking within current guidelines – one drink per day for women, two for men – is risk-free,’ he told The New York Times. ‘The data does not bear that out.’
Conflicting studies on alcohol’s health impacts
Dr Murthy’s intervention comes at a tense time for winemakers, distillers, brewers, bar owners and restaurateurs. The US government is preparing to update its alcohol consumption guidelines, and policymakers will use two duelling studies to inform their decisions.
In December, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) published a comprehensive examination on the effects of alcohol. The authors found that moderate drinking is associated with fewer deaths from heart attacks and strokes, and fewer deaths overall, compared to abstinence.
The NASEM analysis did acknowledge that moderate drinking among women was linked to a small increase in breast cancer, but it said there was insufficient evidence to link alcohol to other cancers. Dr Murthy did not mention the NASEM review when calling for health warning labels on wines, beers and spirits.
This month, a scientific panel commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a conflicting review. The analysis argued even minimal alcohol consumption raises cancer risks. The authors also dismissed earlier claims about the cardiovascular benefits of moderate consumption. Co-author Timothy Naimi said: ‘What a lot of folks may have considered “moderate” drinking is actually moderately risky.’
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Will health warnings be added to wine bottles?
Some wine lovers may be alarmed by the potential of cigarette-style cancer warnings being slapped on bottles of Napa Cabernet. However, Dr Murthy’s proposals face significant legislative hurdles.
Only congress can mandate new health warning labels. It could be difficult to gain broad approval for the plans during these polarised times, and congress currently has far bigger issues on its plate.
There is also nothing to suggest that the new administration will support the proposal. After all, Dr Murthy has already been ousted.
The new president does not drink, but he bought a Virginia winery in 2011 which is now run by his son, Eric. He also made an unsuccessful foray into the industry by launching Trump Vodka. His choice to head the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, quit drinking decades ago and regularly attends AA meetings, but he is by no means a prohibitionist.
It’s also worth noting that the new administration has…
Source : https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/the-complex-case-of-moderate-drinking-549114/
