|
|
The US Congress is questioning a newly created committee that is to draw up recommendations for alcohol consumption. It is headed by Canadian Timothy S. Naimi, who already heads a committee to prevent underage drinking in Canada. He has been heavily criticised for supporting and receiving money from the International Organisation of Good Templars (IOGT). Founded in 1851, the organisation calls for radical alcohol bans worldwide. Naimi is also accused of unscientific work. This is reported by wine-searcher.com.
In 2020, he worked on committees in Canada and the USA to develop recommendations for alcohol consumption for adults. For the USA, the committee recommended changing the official guidelines from the current two drinks per day for men and one for women to a maximum of one drink per day for everyone. This recommendation was rejected by the relevant US institutions as it was not supported by scientific evidence. In Canada, the IOGT recommended a limit of two drinks per week instead of two drinks per day. This guideline was rejected by the Canadian government. In the past four years, Naimi's recommendations have thus not been accepted in two states due to a lack of scientific evidence.
Nevertheless, he was reappointed to the current US committee. Earlier this month, 23 members of the US Congress wrote a letter to the National Institute of Health (NIH) asking why the committee was created in the first place. In 2022, Congress had allocated 1.3 million US dollars to review the alcohol guidelines again. This was because the panel chaired by Naimi had "failed to follow research protocols" in 2020. Two originally appointed, renowned US researchers on the subject of alcohol and health were to conduct a long-term study on the effects of moderate alcohol consumption. However, the NIH's request to the alcohol industry to fund the research led to the study being cancelled by the congressional committee chaired by Naimi. Congress had provided the money from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) for this purpose. The study was commissioned by the ICCPUD (Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking), which Naimi chairs. However, the ICCPUD changed the composition of the research committee without the knowledge of Congress - and dismissed the two scientists who had approached the industry. Laura Catena, a doctor and winemaker living in San Franciso, explained: "All pharmaceutical studies are sponsored by pharmaceutical companies. I think it's commendable that the alcohol industry wanted to fund a study. Especially because there was transparency about it."
The World Health Organisation (WHO) also currently prioritises the higher risk of cancer in its recommendations and ignores several studies whose results show that moderate alcohol consumers are healthier on average than subjects who do not drink alcohol. The US presidential election in November could give the discussion a new perspective: While Donald Trump and the departed Joe Biden do not drink alcohol, the new Democratic candidate Kamala Harris is a self-confessed wine connoisseur.
(al / source: wine-searcher)