Sobering thoughts

Editor's note: The following text is a transcript of a podcast story. To listen to the story, click on the arrow beneath the headline above.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next: alcohol.

The Trump Administration revised decades old alcohol guidelines with a newer take on the topic. Experts seem less eager to accept the change … while some Americans are ahead of the curve.

WORLD’s Emma Eicher has the story.

EMMA EICHER: "Drink less alcohol." That’s the gist of the Trump Administration’s new dietary guidelines.

MEHMET OZ: Small amounts, taken very judiciously …

In early January, Dr. Mehmet Oz announced the revised approach. He’s the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

OZ: There is alcohol on these dietary guidelines, but the implication is, don’t have it for breakfast.

Since the ‘80s, the U.S. alcohol guidelines instructed no more than one drink a day for women, and two drinks for men. In the January press conference, Oz said there’s not enough evidence to back up those recommendations.

So for now, the guidelines don’t quantify how much to drink. It’s just, "drink less." Oz called it a tactic for better socializing.

OZ: Alcohol is a social lubricant that brings people together. In the best case scenario, I don’t think you should drink alcohol, but it does allow people an excuse to bond and socialize, and there’s probably nothing healthier than having a good time with friends in a safe way.

But some substance abuse experts criticize the idea that healthy socializing includes drinking.

Dr. John Kelly is a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He specializes in substance abuse.

JOHN KELLY: That's a line right from the alcohol industry. We can socialize and have fun and talk with our friends and confide in our loved ones without alcohol.

And these days, more and more people agree.

At Maggie’s Farm bar in downtown Pittsburgh, people chat with one hand on a cocktail glass.

But the drink isn’t always filled with booze. Many are swapping pale ales for nonalcoholic beers, or pricey cocktails for juicy mocktails. 

Here’s Maggie’s Farm bartender Sarah:

MAGGIE’S FARM SARAH: The Rumless Runner is gonna be based on the cocktail Rum Runner …

They’re more popular in Dry January, where a quarter of American adults choose sobriety for the month.

MIKE ONOFRAY: I know that we were the first in Pennsylvania to use it, we were the first brewery in Pennsylvania to make non-alcoholic beer. 

Mike Onofray owns Two Frays Brewery in Pittsburgh.

He started brewing nonalcoholic beers back in 2022, right around when many Gen Zers were turning 21.

ONOFRAY:  Gen Z just didn't drink at all.

Studies show that since 2000, young adults turn to nonalcoholic beverages more often than their predecessors. For them, alcohol is a health risk they’re not willing to take.

Dawson Kaiser is 26, and a high school logic teacher in Sewickley, Pennsylvania.

DAWSON KAISER: I don't have an inherent problem with alcohol itself, but for me, I don't drink.

Growing up, his family, church, and friends influenced his decision to stay away from alcohol.

KAISER: Since I was a teenager, all of my friends that I hung around, we, most of us, didn't drink... When I turned 21, I just kept not drinking.

Many of Kaiser’s friends don’t drink for health reasons, following a Gen Z pattern of valuing wellness. He has another reason for staying sober.

KAISER: I am someone who really values being in control of my mind and my body, and so anything that could lend itself to me lacking some level of control … I'm just not interested, I'm not interested in that at all. 

Kaiser is one example of many Americans who were already “drinking less,” years before it was an official guideline.

And that trend doesn’t just include people in their 20s. Older generations are also cutting back. Here’s Onofray again:

ONOFRAY: Their doctors have told them, as they get older, to slow down on the beer drinking. So they're mixing in some non-alcoholic beers with their alcoholic beers, or maybe they listen to their doctor completely and they've completely switched.

Still, Professor John Kelly wonders whether the Administration couldn’t have brought more clarity when it had the chance.

KELLY: The vagueness is the problem, and people just don't know now what to do when they say "less." Can I drink five, if I used to drink seven, is five safe? So we're kind of asking for it by not providing these thresholds which we know to be sensible thresholds and useful, so people at least have some guidance. Now we've taken those away.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Emma Eicher in Pittsburgh.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.