Overview
- The 2025–2030 update removes the long‑standing “two drinks for men, one for women” benchmark and advises adults to consume less alcohol, with abstention urged for pregnant people, those in recovery, and people on certain medications.
- CMS chief Mehmet Oz promoted moderation at the rollout, calling alcohol a “social lubricant” and arguing prior numeric limits lacked strong evidence, while also saying the best case is not to drink.
- Public‑health groups criticized the vaguer guidance for obscuring dose‑dependent cancer and mortality risks, whereas beer, wine, and spirits trade associations praised it as a reaffirmation of moderation.
- Two parallel reviews informed the process and reached conflicting conclusions, and reporters say an HHS‑commissioned study finding harms at low consumption levels was shelved and not considered.
- The guidelines, overseen by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins under the Make America Healthy Again agenda, end sex‑specific limits and have already drawn congressional and scientific scrutiny.