CFA Urges Federal Agency to Carry Out Health Study Despite Alcohol Industry Pressure

The Consumer Federation of America submitted the following comments to the Interagency Coordination Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD's) regarding its planned study on alcohol consumption on health, which will help to inform recommendations about alcohol in the next Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Some policymakers have argued that ICCPUD should abandon the study and defer to a parallel process undertaken by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). Because the NASEM study has been characterized by a lack of transparency, relevant expertise, or adequate controls on conflicts of interest, CFA's comments urge ICCPUD to maintain an emphasis on transparency in its study. The comments support ICCPUD's decision to consider factors such as injury and mental health risk in its analysis, and for focusing on how to communicate risk associated with alcohol consumption to consumers.