  We show that helium film-mediated hydrogen-hydrogen interactions account for
a two orders of magnitude discrepancy between previous theory and recent
experiments on cold collision shifts in spin-polarized hydrogen adsorbed on a
helium film. These attractive interactions also explain the anomalous
dependence of the cold collision frequency shifts on the $^3$He covering of the
film. Our findings suggest that the gas will become mechanically unstable
before reaching the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition unless the experiment is
performed in a drastically different regime, for example with a much different
helium film geometry.
