Alcohol seems to have lost its grip on American life in recent years.
Younger adults are drinking less. Sober bars and alcohol-free member clubs are cropping up across the country. Nonalcoholic beer sales have soared. And content from influencers promoting a sober lifestyle have proliferated on social media.
But rather than harnessing that momentum, thedietary guidelinesthat the Trump administration released earlier this monthno longer put a concrete limiton alcohol consumption. The new directive is simply to "consume less alcohol for better overall health."
In explaining the change, Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, offered a defense of one of society's oldest vices: Alcohol has a social benefit, he said.
"Alcohol is a social lubricant that brings people together," Oz said during a White House briefing on Jan. 7. "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."
His comments landed like a cultural Rorschach test, offering the most high-profile entry yet into an ongoing debate about whether alcohol is, primarily, a public health problem or a useful social crutch.
Some sociologists and psychologists saw Oz's statements as a response to anepidemic of lonelinessand a tendency among some young people to opt for solo nights with a screen rather than trips to the bar. But the booming sober-influencer community — built largely by young adults who say alcohol isn't worth the risks — has spent the last couple of weeks decrying Oz's statements as a step backward.
"People are just concerned that this is going to impact people who are on the fence, whether they should stop drinking or not," Rachel Hechtman, a New York City content creator and sober life coach, said of the updated guidelines. "When you're on the fence, you will look for any sign to do it."
"I mean, it's disgusting," she added.
Health experts said Oz's stance is a dangerous oversimplification that ignores decades of scientific findings.
"I don't think we have evidence to say that drinking is going to make you be more social and therefore be happier or have closer friends," said Priscilla Martinez, the deputy scientific director at the Alcohol Research Group, a nonprofit that investigates health issues related to alcohol use.
Last year, the groupdrafted a reportmeant to inform the new dietary guidelines. It concluded that the more you drink, the more likely you are to get an alcohol-related disease or die of one. The Trump administration went radio silent on the authors last year, Martinez said, and never published it.
Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement that the overhauled guidelines were "based on rigorous scientific review and independent oversight." He did not address questions about Martinez's report.
The prior guidelines (updates come every five years) suggested limiting drinking to one beverage per day for women and two per day for men, which Oz said lacked scientific evidence.
Research is mixed as to how many drinks an adult can safely consume. The World Health Organization has said there'sno safe limit for alcohol consumptionand even light or moderate drinking can cause cancer. Studies have also shown that regularly drinking alcohol raises the risk of liver damage and several cancers.
Afederal reportin January 2025 concluded that even one daily drink could increase the chances of liver cirrhosis, esophageal cancer and oral cancer.
However, a differentfederal report, published in December 2024, suggested that moderate drinking, compared with abstaining from alcohol, was linked to a lower risk of overall death and death from heart disease but an increased risk of breast cancer. Nixon said the new guidelines align with those December findings.
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Health experts caution against the idea that social isolation poses a greater threat to young adults than moderate alcohol consumption, especially since research is not clear as to whether drinking can reduce loneliness or thephysical health problems associated with loneliness.
Some studies have shown, however, that moderate drinking canenhance positive moodsandhelp strangers connect.
"These social bonding studies do not challenge the data related to physical health complications related to drinking, but they do suggest that social outcomes also may be relevant to health, especially among otherwise healthy, light to moderate drinkers," said Michael Sayette, a psychology professor at the University of Pittsburgh.
Scott Galloway, a marketing professor at New York University who has written about modern masculinity, has been among the most vocal proponents of the idea that drinking plays a crucial social role in American society. In an appearanceon the HBO show "Real Time with Bill Maher" in November, Galloway called the anti-alcohol movement the "worst thing that's happened to young people."
"The risks to your 25-year-old liver are dwarfed by the risk of social isolation," he said, encouraging men in particular to "get out, drink more."
Beer companies, unsurprisingly, have embraced this line of thinking, with several advertising their products as a solution to a lack of socializing.
Last week, Dos Equisannounced the returnof its "Most Interesting Man in the World" ad character as part of a campaign that encourages friends to share stories over a beer. "People aren't just thirsty for beer — they are thirsty for memorable experiences,"the company's press release said.
Heineken's CEO, Dolf van den Brink, toldthe Financial Timesin October that discussions about alcohol's health risks should consider its role as a "social lubricant" — the same phrase Oz used months later — particularly during "this time of loneliness and a mental health epidemic." The interview followed aHeineken ad campaigncalled "Social off Socials," launched in April, that framed the company's product as a way to get people to put down their phones and connect in real life.
The alcohol industry has takena financial hitover the last four years as adults have been drinking less,according to a Bloomberg analysis. Public health researchers and consumer trend analysts attribute the trend, in part, to #sobertok — a community of TikTokers documenting their sobriety — as well as the rise ingrocery and housing costs. As of July, 54% of U.S. adults reported they consumed alcohol, down from 62% in 2023, according toa Gallup survey. Among young adults, 66% reported in the survey that one or two drinks per day was bad for their health.
Given those trends, some nutrition experts viewed the new guidelines as a victory for alcohol industry lobbyists. When asked about that, Nixon said, "It is absurd to suggest that anything other than gold standard science guided our work on this presidential priority."
In response to the government's vague language on alcohol, many sober influencers haveposted videosreminding their followers thatfun can be had without drinking.
Hechtman, who quit drinking in 2021 after participating in Dry January, a challenge to abstain from alcohol for 31 days, said her social life has flourished since then.
"I stopped drinking, and I realized, 'Wait, I'm having more fun than I ever had before,'" she said, adding that the rise of alcohol-free social spaces in New York City and the increasing popularity of sobriety have helped.
One of these sober spaces is The Maze, the city's first dry members club. Its founder, Justin Gurland — a licensed social worker who is 17 years sober — said he created the club after recognizing how deeply alcohol is embedded in social life.
"Without alcohol as a buffer or crutch, people tend to be more present and more intentional," he said. "It may take a few extra minutes for people to warm up, but once they do, the connections are more grounded and lasting."
Eric Klinenberg, a sociology professor at New York University who has studied social isolation and its health effects, said the country could use more gathering spaces that don't involve alcohol.
"If you ask me how to promote public health in the United States, getting people to drink more would probably not be at the top of my list," he said. "There's probably other kinds of social spaces that I would advocate for — playgrounds and parks and athletic facilities."
Oz, however, doubled down on his statements after the dietary guidelines came out. In a post on X the next day, he offereda clarificationto a comment he'd made advising people not to drink at breakfast: "Brunch is obviously different than breakfast. (Yes, still keep to a minimum.)"
