Beer Marketer's Insights - ICCPUD Research Not "Duplicative," Necessary for Efforts on Underage Drinking, Draft USAPA Letter Claims

Pending research by the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD), designed to inform the next edition of the US Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), is "entirely different" from work being done by the National Academies (NASEM). And contrary to critiques by lawmakers (and industry), it "is indeed thoroughly informed by and consistent with the ICCPUD's charge." So writes the public-health aligned US Alcohol Policy Alliance in a draft letter to Congress that it circulated this morning. The org seeks as many signatures from its member network as possible by Monday. The letter attempts to respond to concerns outlined in a letter signed by 113 members of Congress, which recall urged the Departments of Health & Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture (USDA) to halt ICCPUD's work tied to the DGA. USAPA focuses most of its attention on the claim that studying the impacts of adult alcohol consumption is beyond the purview of an agency focused on underage drinking. And while it hints at the critique that ICCPUD's work is "duplicative" of NASEM's, the org provides little detail for how the efforts differ substantively. It also does not acknowledge the close ties between USAPA and ICCPUD, its planned research and the researchers completing it.Tying ICCPUD Effort to Underage Drinking that Research Plan Ignores Understanding alcohol's impact on health across a lifetime is critical to informing ICCPUD's efforts to curb underage drinking, according to the USAPA's "alternate, science-based view." Research proves that teen drinking can impact the likelihood of "short-term, acute consequences" later in life, the letter asserts. But while "we know that patterns of drinking tend to be set early in life," their potential to impact "chronic" health issues is less clear. So USAPA argues that ICCPUD's research would help clarify if "the risk start[s] at any drinking for underage persons."Adult consumption is "one of the greatest influences on young people's drinking," the letter asserts, echoing comments by USAPA members during ICCPUD's annual stakeholder meeting in Aug. "Having an accurate picture of the risks of alcohol consumption over the entire lifespan can also inform our outreach to parents," who the agency targets in its media campaign, the letter continues. But in general, it makes a case for additional research to understand if teen drinking increases the likelihood of long-term health problems like cancer. Yet USAPA does not explain how ICCPUD's charter establishes a pathway for the agency to complete such research, let alone why the lead up to the next edition of the DGA is the appropriate time to do it.The purpose of ICCPUD's Alcohol Intake & Health study is "to inform the federally coordinated approach to prevent underage drinking," the letter sums up, citing the website that describes the work. However, the research protocol itself says nothing about this purported link, recall. The words "underage youth" appear just once in the 20-page description (and nearly 40-page document). They come up in a parenthetical remark alongside "pregnant persons," describing some of the "vulnerable populations" for whom "consuming alcohol is hazardous." Note that while the research plan names these two well-known groups that should avoid drinking, it calls for researchers to consider expanding that list."Different," But How? Questions Tackled by NASEM Cover Gamut "There is no other existing committee or division within HHS or any other Department that is better equipped to lead this study and produce comprehensive and reliable findings" than ICCPUD, USAPA asserts. But developing the DGA historically involves in-depth reviews of existing science, not new research. And while ICCPUD chose to embark on new research, NASEM remains focused on comprehensive reviews of existing studies on alcohol's impact on health.Recall, NASEM's panel of scientists is answering 8 specific research questions about "the relationship between alcohol consumption" and a variety of outcomes, including risks for obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurocognitive health, all-cause mortality and 3 pregnancy-related issues. In short, the work covers essentially all major long-term health issues for which alcohol is known to interact. USAPA's letter does not address how answering these questions would be somehow insufficient to accomplish the stated goal of understanding the "lifetime risks" of alcohol consumption. In fact, it specifically points to alcohol's cancer links and the relatively recent studies that have "called into question whether patterns of light or moderate drinking provide any protection against all-cause mortality or specific consequences such as coronary heart disease." But again, NASEM is reviewing the entire body of science on those topics and others.Links to ICCPUD USAPA members are "researchers, community coalitions, and public health leaders who have worked for decades on the cutting edge of the developing science which informs alcohol policy," the letter explains. "Many of us were instrumental in the passage" of the STOP Act that established ICCPUD in 2006, it continues. Or, as the industry views it, the org is "the foremost anti-alcohol organization in the United States," as Beer Institute's Bill Young explained last week.USAPA is also closely tied to ICCPUD and the planned research this letter defends, recall. Current board member and chairperson until earlier this year, Alicia Sparks is the outside contractor who manages both of ICCPUD's major annual projects. She was also specifically thanked for her assistance in a draft of the study's protocol, published by ICCPUD's research panel earlier this year. Many of those panelists also have years-long links to USAPA and its events and at least a quarter of the letter's citations were co-authored by panelist Tim Naimi, including the "new information" casting doubt on "light or moderate drinking."Cheers,

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ICCPUD Research Not "Duplicative," Necessary for Efforts on Underage Drinking, Draft USAPA Letter Claims

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