Two beers is too many? Bad science underlies new proposal

Published September 3, 2020 4:00am ET



The Trump and Biden campaigns recently sparred over whether the government should tell people to lay off red meat. But a new proposal could see the Trump administration hit men with equally unpopular and unscientific advice later this year. A proposal being considered by the administration would change the United States’s definition of “moderate drinking,” telling men to have no more than one alcoholic drink on any given day.

If the proposal succeeds, the U.S. will be the latest country to allow anti-alcohol activists to overturn decades of evidence showing that people who drink moderately live longer than those who drink no alcohol at all. Moderate drinking, currently defined as up to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women, has a particularly strong protective effect against heart disease, which remains America’s biggest killer.

Already a print subscriber? Click here to login/register your account

Trusted reporting.Unlimited access.

Subscribe for full access to Washington Examiner coverage, expert political analysis, and subscriber-only journalism.

Get Unlimited Access

Already a member? Log in

Cancel anytime.