As President Biden’s team was preparing to leave office, federal agencies were hard at work on beverage alcohol policy. In early January, President Biden’s Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a new advisory regarding a link between beverage alcohol consumption and certain types of cancers. Specifically, the advisory states that “Consuming alcohol increases the risk of developing at least seven types of cancer” – including cancers in the mouth, throat, voice box, esophagus, breast (in women), liver, and colon/rectum. The advisory ends with several recommendations, including:

• Reassess recommended limits for beverage alcohol consumption to account for the latest evidence on alcohol consumption and cancer risk;
• Update the existing Surgeon General’s health warning label on beverage alcohol products to include a warning about the risk of cancer associated with alcohol consumption. Pursue changes to label characteristics to make the warning label more visible, prominent, and effective in increasing awareness about cancer risks associated with alcohol consumption.

The first recommendation is particularly interesting given that the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans are due to be published later this year. The current (2020) iteration of the Dietary Guidelines states that beverage alcohol consumption in adults over the age of 21 should be limited to two drinks or less per day for men, and one drink or less per day for women. The Surgeon General’s recommendation that the guidelines reflect “latest evidence” is somewhat of a given, since the mandate of the guidelines is to be based on the “preponderance of current scientific and medical knowledge.”

The second recommendation is for an update to the current warning label on beverage alcohol products. As a reminder, the current warning, as prescribed in 27 USC Section 215(a) says the following:

“GOVERNMENT WARNING: (1) According to the Surgeon General, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects. (2) Consumption of alcoholic beverages impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and may cause health problems.”

In order for any changes to be made to the current warning, Congress would have to change Title 27 USC Section 215 – which is no small feat. The Surgeon General’s advisory did not opine on the specifics of the new text but did note that he recommends an update to the warning label for beverage alcohol products to include a cancer risk warning.

In addition to the Surgeon General’s advisory, the Alcohol Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has been busy revisiting its role in beverage alcohol labeling. On January 17, 2025, TTB announced two new proposed rules:

1)  Major Food Allergen Labeling for Wines, Distilled Spirits, and Malt Beverages

Requires labeling disclosure of all major food allergens used in the production of beverage alcohol: labels must declare milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, soybeans, and sesame, as well as ingredients that contain protein derived from these foods, if used in the production of the beverage alcohol. TTB proposed a compliance date of five years from the date that a final rule resulting from this proposal is published in the Federal Register.

2)  Alcohol Facts Statements in the Labeling of Wines, Distilled Spirits, and Malt Beverages

Requires disclosure of per-serving alcohol, calorie, and nutrient content information in an “Alcohol Facts” statement on all beverage alcohol labels subject to TTB’s regulatory authority under the Federal Alcohol Administration (FAA) Act. TTB proposed a compliance date of five years from the date that a final rule resulting from this proposal is published in the Federal Register.

As these are proposed rules, for both of which there is a comment period that ends on April 17, 2025.

These proposed regulations are a response to public health groups (namely Center for Science in the Public Interest) which have been requesting that the TTB require transparency in labeling for several years. These groups sued the Treasury Department (TTB’s parent agency) in 2022 for not moving quickly enough on updating labeling requirements. To their credit, many beverage alcohol producers are voluntarily disclosing ingredients already, but we should expect the industry associations to comment on this proposed rule and ask for either exceptions or leeway in terms of how the information is presented – QR codes on packaging that link to nutrition facts, as an example.

The big question is, how will the new administration and new Congress handle beverage alcohol policy moving forward? While the Trump 1.0 administration sought to reduce and remove regulations, it seems unlikely that any labeling changes currently under consideration from TTB would be affected by a Trump 2.0 presidency. However, the Trump administration could take an opportunity to leave their imprint on the upcoming Dietary Guidelines. With RFK Jr. at the helm of the Health and Human Services Department, the “Make America Healthy Again” movement will surely have some impact on the overall Dietary Guidelines document.

Moving any legislation in Congress will be difficult due to razor-slim Republican majorities in both chambers. However, Congress will be taking up major changes to tax legislation as well as a rewrite of the Farm Bill in 2025, which could be vehicles for changes in law.

Bottom line: there’s a lot at stake in the beverage alcohol policy world, and a new administration and new Congress likely won’t slow the pace of change. Stakeholders should anticipate a very busy 2025 and beyond.

This publication is intended for general information purposes only and does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice. The reader should consult with legal counsel to determine how laws or decisions discussed herein apply to the reader's specific circumstances.