The consumption of alcohol in the United States has declined substantially, reaching the lowest levels in almost a century.
A mere 54 percent of Americans report that they drink, according to a poll from Gallup last month.
That’s a decrease from the 60 percent or more of Americans who reported between 1997 and 2023 that they drink alcohol.
The only other times alcohol consumption levels have been below 60 percent were in 1939, which was the year in which Gallup’s poll started, and in 1958.
Gallup suggested that broader knowledge about the adverse effects of alcohol could be contributing to the decline.
“The consecutive declines in Americans’ reported drinking the past few years are unmatched in Gallup’s trend and coincide with recent research indicating that any level of alcohol consumption may negatively affect health,” Gallup noted.
“This has been a sharp reversal from previous recommendations that moderate drinking could offer some protective benefits.”
The majority of Americans now say that “one or two drinks a day” is bad for one’s health, the first time such a finding has occurred in the Gallup poll.
Only 6 percent say alcohol is good for one’s health.
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“Consistent with the decline in young adults’ already lower use of alcohol over the past decade, this age group has also been the most likely to believe drinking is bad for one’s health,” Gallup noted.
Beer remains the most popular libation in the United States, with 38 percent of respondents identifying it as their drink of choice.
Men are more likely than women to choose beer, while women are more likely to choose wine, and both sexes are equally likely to enjoy liquor.
Beyond health concerns, some have pointed to a persistent loneliness epidemic as a possible reason for lower alcohol consumption.
Malcolm Purinton, an assistant teaching professor of history at Northeastern University who has studied the history of beer, said that the impact of COVID may have reduced interest in alcohol.
“In high school, generally people will start experimenting with alcohol, usually in a social atmosphere,” Purinton described.
“You didn’t have that social component. What you did have is you had [them] witnessing people drinking more, your parents and people of age drinking a whole lot more.”
Purinton noted that shifts between generations in terms of drinking habits, and which drinks they prefer, are often reactions to their parents’ drinking habits.
“Craft beer was a big thing because people were like, ‘I’m not going to drink the Budweiser because that’s what my parents drank. I’m going to be doing something different,’” Purinton continued.
“Now, the craft beer drinkers are the parents, so you see people either not drinking or choosing something else,” he added. “Right now that expression of individuality is, ‘I’m not going to drink. I’m not going to be inebriated. I’m going to have control because you all didn’t.’”
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