Addressing Alcohol’s Serious Role in Chronic Disease for Health Promotion
Twenty-four leading consumer, public health, and food allergy organizations are urging the Trump administration to prioritise alcohol policy in national efforts to prevent and reduce non-communicable diseases (NCDs, or chronic diseases). According to a June 2025 report by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the civil society coalition wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, calling for better alcohol labeling regulations and greater recognition of alcohol’s role in fueling long-term health conditions.
The letter points out that alcohol is a significant contributor to NCDs, such as cancer, liver and heart disease, in both children and adults. The impact is undeniable.
Each year in the U.S., alcohol causes more deaths than opioids and guns combined. It also leads to over 4.2 million emergency room visits and nearly 2 million hospitalisations.
Hidden Health Risks and Lack of Transparency
While ethanol itself is the most harmful ingredient, other elements in alcoholic products, such as additives, dyes, and allergens, also pose risks. Christina LiPuma, a registered dietitian and policy associate at CSPI, noted that alcohol accounts for about 9% of daily caloric intake among those who consume it.
Many alcohol products also contain added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium. However, without clear labeling, consumers are left unaware.
On average, alcohol accounts for nine percent of daily calories for those who drink [alcohol]. People generally don’t have a chance to see that their alcoholic beverages are loaded with calories and sometimes added sugars, saturated fat, or sodium,” saidMs LiPuma, according to the CSPI press release.
Alcoholic drinks can also contain dyes, allergens, or additives they may be trying to avoid. But avoiding these ingredients is difficult, because this type of labeling isn’t mandatory for most products and is only sometimes disclosed voluntarily.”
Christina LiPuma, registered dietitian and policy associate at CSPI
Most alcoholic products in the U.S. are regulated by the Treasury Department. Labeling remains largely voluntary for the alcohol industry. Therefore, alcohol companies often omit critical health and nutritional information keeping people in the dark about what is really in alcoholic products. The current lack of mandatory ingredient and allergen labeling places millions of U.S. Americans at risk, especially those with food allergies.
Sung Poblete, CEO of Food Allergy Research & Education, emphasised that over 26 million U.S. adults live with potentially life-threatening food allergies, as per the CSPI press release. These individuals are at high risk when they consume alcohol without knowing what it contains. Yet this basic information is still not required on labels.
There are more than 26 million Americans of legal [alcohol consumption] age with potentially life-threatening food allergies to one of the top nine food allergens who are risking their lives with every glass of wine or sip of beer or cocktail,” said Ms Publete, according to the CSPI press release.
Our community relies on and depends on food allergen labeling to safely purchase and consume food, and they deserve the same information on alcoholic beverages. This regulation has languished for over 20 years.”
Sung Poblete, CEO, Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE)
Calls for Mandatory Warnings and Clear Labels
The coalition is demanding the implementation of a cancer warning label, as recently recommended by the U.S. Surgeon General. They are also urging mandatory disclosure of nutrition facts, food allergens, and full ingredient lists.
These labeling changes are part of proposed rules now under review by the Treasury Department. CSPI and partner groups had to sue the agency to prompt this process. The rules remain open for public comment until August.
Despite this progress, the administration recently withdrew a pre-rule that would have further advanced ingredient labeling. This step in the wrong direction undermines efforts toward transparency and food safety.
Thomas Gremillion, food policy director at the Consumer Federation of America, criticised the alcohol industry for its ongoing resistance. He said that the industry spends billions of dollars on advertising but refuses to inform consumers about the harms of alcohol use. Every year, an estimated 20,000 people in the U.S. die from alcohol-related cancers, a fact rarely mentioned on labels.
The alcohol industry has fought to keep consumers in the dark about its products and their health harms, including an estimated 20,000 cancer deaths attributable to alcohol each year,” said Mr Gremillion, as per CSPI’s press release.
With the industry spending billions of dollars on advertising each year, consumers have a right to accurate information about alcohol.”
Thomas Gremillion, food policy director, Consumer Federation of America
Global Perspective on Labeling and Prevention
Evidence from extensive research further supports the urgent need for alcohol labeling reform in the United States. For example,
- Ireland’s updated law will require a cancer warning on all alcohol labels starting in 2026. The warning will state: “There is a direct link between alcohol and fatal cancers.”
- South Korea and Thailand also have some form of health warning labeling in place, though industry interference has watered down their content.
In early 2025, Movendi International published a comprehensive overview of which countries have – or will have – effective warning labels, which countries have state-of-the-art low-risk alcohol use guidelines, and whether there are public awareness efforts on alcohol and cancer in countries around the world.
A Critical Opportunity for the Trump Administration
Consumer groups say this is a key moment for the federal government to act. World class alcohol labeling policies would support transparency, protect people’s health, and help reduce the long-term burden of NCDs. Aligning alcohol policy with evidence-based public health measures is essential to achieving national health goals.
As Mike Marshall from the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance emphasised, improving the health of U.S. American families is impossible without addressing alcohol harm. The administration now has the chance to implement common-sense, science-backed labeling policies, and prevent avoidable harm for millions.