You may have read about a study, allegedly suppressed by agencies of the US government over the vigorous objections of many in the scientific and medical communities.

The study examined the effects of drinking on health, and included recommendations for safe limits on consumption. Here’s a link to the story:

What a study at odds with Trump officials’ health guidance found on alcohol limits

I didn’t find the research findings all that controversial. They concluded that regular alcohol use was strongly associated with a remarkable number of health consequences, and to avoid them, drinkers should limit their consumption to no more than one drink a day.

Because beyond that amount, problems (and risk) escalate rapidly.

I quote: “Even a limit of two drinks a day is associated with greatly elevated health risks, according to the study. Having 14 drinks a week was associated with a 1 in 25 chance of an alcohol-related death.”

Anyway, the plan had been to use these findings to inform the USDA’s guidance for consumers. That never happened. Instead, the revised guidelines eliminated a numerical limit altogether. Leaving it up to the drinker.

Why, I wondered? If one drink is the safe level, why not just say that?

As it turns out, the alcohol industry— the people who make and distribute and sell alcoholic beverages to the public— strongly objected. To quote the senior vice president of science and research for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, the study was “the product of a flawed, opaque, and biased process.”

The Distilled Spirits Council has its own scientists? Is this like the Tobacco Institute?

I suspect the real motivation for protesting a solid limit on alcohol consumption was based in some changes in how people drink — changes that folks in the alcohol industry find deeply disturbing. Some facts:

  • A majority of Americans (53%) now regard even moderate drinking as bad for their health. It’s a big change from a few decades ago, when most of us were convinced that moderate drinking was actually better for us than not drinking at all.
  • A steep decline in drinking rates among 18- to 34-year-olds, a key demographic for future sales.
  • Among those Americans who do drink, consumption fell to an average of 2.8 drinks per week, versus 5 drinks just a couple of decades ago.

How is this trend affecting the alcohol business, not just in the US, but worldwide? Forbes offers us a look:

>Is The World Going Sober? $830 Million Wiped Of Liquor Stocks,

Maybe the industry’s desire to suppress the study isn’t such a mystery after all.