Industry Groups Decry New ICCPUD Alcohol Report As “Tainted By Bias”
Earlier this month, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy sent a chill through the drinks industry with an advisory asserting a causal link between alcohol and heightened cancer risk, urging that beverage alcohol labels carry cancer warnings moving forward. Yesterday, Murthy’s announcement was followed up by the second of two highly anticipated studies on alcohol consumption commissioned as part of the process of updating the U.S. Dietary Guidelines.
The new study was conducted by the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD), which is staffed by a group of researchers with ties to anti-alcohol advocacy groups. The report found that, “Among the U.S. population, the risk of dying from alcohol use begins at low levels of average use. Higher levels of alcohol consumption are linked with progressively higher mortality risk.”
The ICCPUD’s report contrasts with the other study conducted for the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, which was authored by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) and found that “compared with never consuming alcohol, moderate alcohol consumption is associated with lower all-cause mortality,” adding that “consuming moderate amounts of alcohol is associated with a lower risk of [cardiovascular disease] mortality in both females and males.”
Drinks industry groups’ reaction to the ICCPUD report was swift and severe. “Today’s report is the product of a flawed, opaque and unprecedented process, rife with bias and conflicts of interest,” said a coalition including DISCUS, the Wine Institute, WSWA, the Brewers Association, and others. “Several members of the six-member ICCPUD panel have affiliations with international anti-alcohol advocacy groups, and the panel has worked closely with others connected with these advocates. Congress never authorized or appropriated money for the panel or its work, and numerous letters from Congress and industry have voiced serious concerns over the process.
“Our collective organizations are a broad-based group representing seed to store, horticulture to hospitality,” the statement continued. “We are committed to science over bias. This report heightens our concerns that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans’ recommendations with respect to alcohol will not be based on a preponderance of sound scientific evidence.”
Specifically, the industry groups cited a “lack of transparency and limited opportunities for stakeholder input” on the ICCPUD report, “issues with statutory authority, especially assigning research on adult alcohol consumption to a committee created solely to address underage drinking; clear evidence of bias and conflicts of interest in those tasked with conducting the research, including ties to international temperance organizations and anti-alcohol advocacy efforts; and an unprecedented process that allows for original research based on cherry-picked data and flawed methodologies.”
The coalition is calling for the Secretaries of Agriculture and Health & Human Services to disregard the ICCPUD report as they make their final assessments for the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines, which will be forthcoming.—Daniel Marsteller
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Tagged : dietary guidelines, ICCPUD
