Anti-alcohol activists are hijacking federal dietary guidelines

“If the government goes through with a ‘no safe level’ declaration or a reduction in the drinking guidelines, the consequences will be more significant than many realize,” says C. Jarrett Dieterle, a senior fellow at the R Street Institute, who has followed these developments closely.

Reduced consumer demand for booze would be only one of the outcomes—though obviously a significant one for the alcohol industry. Polling suggests that up to two-thirds of younger Americans would curtail their drinking if the dietary guidelines suggest doing so.

The bigger thing, says Dieterle, is that a “no safe level” declaration could trigger a series of class-action lawsuits against alcohol producers—similar to those unleashed against tobacco companies in the 1990s.

Even if the litigation isn’t successful or doesn’t ruin the industry, it would bring added costs and risks that could drive some producers (smaller, craft operations, in particular) out of the market. Combined with the potential harm of higher tariffs, the alcohol industry is facing a rough year. Even if the dietary guidelines are ignored by most Americans, small margins can make a difference.

“Mix it all together and it’s starting to look like the industry will be forced to swallow a poisonous cocktail of bad government policy,” Dieterle tells Reason.