A new annual consumer habits survey released by Gallup, the polling company, on Wednesday, August 13, revealed that alcohol consumption among American adults is at its lowest level in history. Moreover, the majority of Americans now consider moderate drinking to be harmful for the first time.
According to a Reuters report on Wednesday, the survey showed that about 54% of Americans said they drink alcohol, down from 58% in 2024 and 62% in 2023. This 54% figure marks a historic low, below the previous lowest record of 55% set by Gallup in 1958 during its nearly 90 years of tracking.
Since the binge drinking during the pandemic, alcohol sales have been decreasing due to consumer tightening expenditures caused by inflation and rising interest rates. Meanwhile, public health authorities have been issuing warnings repeatedly: even moderate drinking is associated with at least seven types of cancer.
The survey found that 53% of Americans believe that moderate drinking is harmful to health, up from 45% last year.
The survey also reveals a decrease in the number of frequent drinkers in America. A historical low of 24% indicated they had a drink the day before, and 40% stated it had been more than a week since they last drank, the highest level since 2000.
In the past week, the average alcohol consumption has dropped to 2.8 drinks, the lowest level since 1996, down from 3.8 drinks a year ago and far below the peak of 5.1 drinks per week in 2003.
Gallup’s director of social research, Lydia Saad, stated: “The decline in alcohol consumption does not seem to be because people are turning to other mood-altering substances – especially recreational marijuana, which is currently legal in nearly half of the states in the US.”
Gallup has been tracking American drinking habits since 1939 and has been monitoring Americans’ views on the health impact of moderate drinking since 2001.