This article is Updated with comments from the White House.
The “Make America Healthy Again” movement hopes to have no enemies.
Over the past two years, seed oils, sugary drinks, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, childhood vaccines, and the industries that support them have come under unprecedented scrutiny. But MAHA’s quest to overcome the root causes of chronic disease omits an obvious enemy: alcohol.
The movement and its leader, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have largely avoided alcohol, even though alcohol causes more deaths in the United States each year than infectious diseases and opioids combined.
A STAT investigation found that the Trump administration has favored the expanding alcohol industry while downplaying the risks of alcohol and actively derailing efforts to understand and prevent the harms of drinking.
Even President Kennedy, who has professed a deep interest in improving the country’s patchy addiction treatment infrastructure, has not offered a plan to specifically address the country’s popular drugs. Most of his investments to date have focused on opioids, particularly among homeless Americans, with little attention to excessive alcohol use in the broader population.
alcohol
Other works in “The Deadliest Drug” series
So far, the government’s most notable action on alcohol has been to bury a report that concluded light drinking posed a risk. Cut more than half of the federal agency workforce dedicated to drug use. Closing down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s alcohol program. and changing dietary guidelines to eliminate recommended drinking limits. That erasure has rippled through the government. In January, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism removed information about the health risks of moderate drinking from its website, according to an archived version of the page.
STAT+ exclusive story
Already have an account? Log in
This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers
Unlock this article and get in-depth analysis, newsletters, premium events, and news alerts.
Already have an account? Log in
Individual plan Group plan See all plans
To read the rest of this story, subscribe to STAT+.
Subscribe
Source link
