A record low level of Americans drink, and a majority now say alcohol is bad for your health
A record low number of Americans are drinking, according to a new Gallup poll released this week. Just 54% of Americans said they consume alcohol at all.
Gallup has been tracking Americans’ drinking behavior since 1939, and their views of the health implications of drinking since 2001. For the first time, a majority of Americans – 53% – said that moderate drinking, defined as one or two drinks per day, is bad for your health.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/14/health/alcohol-drinking-declinesOpen linkView original on lemmy.world293
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Would you look at that, education reducing drug use. Who would have thought? Maybe this is how we reduce the other types of drug use? Nah send them to jail.
Nah, just elect trump and defund the education system so the alcohol industry can reign supreme.
The alcohol industry is in serious trouble right now because of Trump’s trade war.
The resources required are all agricultural, which the US actually does produce.
The equipment required is pretty simple (so most could be sourced locally).
What am I overlooking?
I think they were referring to the significant decrease in alcohol sales to Canada now that the tariffs are in place
Are other drugs down too?
I enjoy drinking, I'm under no delusion that it has any physical health benefits, it's quite literally poison.
There's maybe an argument for it having mental health benefits if used in moderation, but probably not any more than having any hobby or socialization would do for you, we all need to unwind somehow.
Also, this definition of "moderate" drinking really rubs me the wrong way, one to two drinks a day really sounds to me like someone with a drinking problem.
Not that two drinks is really a lot of alcohol, on the occasions I drink, I'll usually have more than that, sometimes a lot more.
But on an average week, I'm having maybe about two drinks, probably less.
And even if I make some pretty wild overestimates about how often I go to parties or whatever and how much I drink there, I still average out to less than 2 drinks a day. More realistically I probably average out to more like ½ a drink per day.
And like I said, I'm someone who likes alcohol. I have a fully-stocked bar at home that would put some nicer establishments to shame. For certain date nights it's pretty much a given that my wife and I are going to kill a bottle of wine between us. I'm certainly no teetotaler.
This is typical of someone who drinks beer or wine with their evening meal. Many people who do that always do that unless they have a specific reason not to. This is not behavior most medical professionals see as problematic, though it likely has a small health impact/risk.
The US CDC describes that behavior as binge drinking.
By that definition, most of my drinking probably wouldn't count as a binge. I might, over the course of a day hanging around camp or whatever, have a dozen or so drinks, but that's spread out over almost as many hours.
I have seen other definitions that call any day you have more than 2 a binge, and by that definition, sure, I have an occasional binge, but I don't know if I'm a fan of that definition, it feels like there's too many variables with body weight and metabolism and such, and of course how quickly you're drinking, there's a big difference between a 300lb man killing a 6 pack over the course of a day and a 100lb woman pounding them one after another, so I like how the NIAAA definition ties it to BAC.
I think the two drinks a day is supposed to be an average. I don't drink every day anymore, but when I did it was almost always more than two, usually at least double that by typical serving standards. On days I do drink now, it's still about the same amount, but it's once or twice a week, so my average is probably around a drink a day or so.
The fuck? Nobody is having 7 drinks on friday and the same on Saturday and claiming they have two drinks a day
I mean, I don't know what to tell you. I drink 5 or 6 on Friday and Saturday and don't drink the rest of the week.
Yes, you are doing more damage than someone who only drinks two drinks a day
It's also bad for the wallet.
15$ margaritas at restaurants is absurd. More than some meals on menu.
Plus I feel like they under pour the alcohol or barely give you the minimum if you do get one. They’re like Starbucks drinks, sugar bombs with a little bit of the ingredient you actually want.
If you go to Starbucks, it's because you want sugar, not coffee.
Hey now, I get an extra shot of espresso when I get Caribou because I want sugar and coffee!
During COVID, one of the fun treats I'd get myself to keep my spirits up was a $15 margarita from a local Mexican place that delivered. Totally worth it though because it came in a quart-sized deli container (which I'd use to store the leftovers in after drinking all 32 ounces of that margarita in one sitting).
Since COVID ended, I drink way less and I've lost like 10 or 15 lbs just from that, and I look back on those margaritas with a mixture of fondness, fear, and a tiny bit of disgust.
It’s honestly why I rarely drink much now. I am mostly a social drinker so it’s more of the fact it costs more and I am less social these days which puts me off from it. The only times I drink alone is when I want to pair some wine with a meal that complements it or having a few cold beers on the weekend while doing yard work.
This. Just like everything else in this country alcohol is getting expensive, not just cheap alcohol but all alcohol. I am not a drinker, but I have on occasions enjoy a drink here and there even for myself the price is too much to enjoy anymore.
Kilju is practically free
Never head of it before. Cool thanks.
Couple years ago a NYTimes article showed that alcohol of any type and in any amount is bad for your health. This is quite the departure from people drinking red wine because it was thought to benefit one's health.
https://web.archive.org/web/20250729155025/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/13/well/mind/alcohol-health-effects.html
That's because people don't understand statistics, or willfully misunderstand them.
French people are less likely to die from heart failure (than, say, Americans).
French people are more likely to drink red wine (than, say, Americans).
Therefore drinking red wine reduces the risk of heart failure.
Therefore drinking red wine is healthy.
It's not even that specifically, at least in my family they latched onto the "resveratrol has health benefits" study, and expanded that to "red wine is healthy"
Like oh yeah cookies are healthy now because eggs have choline. So dumb.
Wow. 140k deaths is... A lot. For a population of ~330mil that's six times the already ridiculous US homicide rate. Stop drinking, y'all.
What, and rawdog reality? That seems far more dangerous for me right now.
They took the part of the wine that was healthy for you and turned it into a pill. Guess how many people wanted the pill Vs the wine lol
Life is bad for your health.
Time is bad for you
If living wasn't bad for your health you wouldn't die.
This is very noticable in Germany as well. So much more zero alcohol beers popping up everywhere.
It's weird I feel old because I remember when everyone was drinking so much
The situation might be better in Germany but in Finland all the 0% beers I've tried have tasted either shit or just not like the real thing
You guys just have shit ones then. I'm in the US and Guinness zero tastes exactly like Guinness. Athletic Brewing Company's upside dawn tastes exactly like regular beer.
But since they also don't have alcohol you don't get those effects, so given the choice I'd rather just drink water.
I've had the Guinness one and didn't think it tasted the same. But it's probably made locally so might be different to what you had.
My opinion is in the middle of you both. They don't taste the same, but the more bitter ones are really good.
Some of them are alright as a drink but not really as beer
Yea, I never liked non-alcoholic beer for this reason. Even if it tastes the same, the taste of beer is just not that great. I'd rather have some cold water or a soda if I won't be getting drunk anyway. I did recently start living non-alcoholic cider though, surprisingly
It’s literally toxic
Found the cause of the fertility crisis
I'm of the opinion that there's no reversing a fertility crisis until we make teenage pregnancy great again. A 25 year old has seen too much, knows too much
Why do you think Republicans regularly try to cut sex ed out of schools?
There is no fertility crisis though.
People are plenty fertile lol
they just don't want kids. Also since they don't want them and are satisfied with that, not a crisis
They want them, but can't afford a nice place to raise them. It's no wonder in places like SF the fertility rate is much lower than the national average
If only conservative people have kids the youngest voters will lean conservative
Both things can be true. I think it's something like 25-30% of younger men with sperm cells so weak they'd at least struggle greatly to procreate. Probably more due to microplastics and fastfood though, but drinking doesn't help. Same reason there are so many allergies etc in the West
i'll just have to double my drinking to make up the deficit then
Once trump has converted USA to Russia, everyone will be an alcoholic again. Then the statistics will be asking how many americans think methanol is bad for you. MAAA
Kombucha on the other hand is awesome. Plus some Bulgarian yogurt with L.Reuteri. all good things!
Nerds.
Knurds.
I just stopped drinking recently as well. It is a much better life.
Nearly two years for me, life is better 💪
I'll drink occasionally and eat an edible occasionally. Pretty much only socially. I don't get the people who obsessively have to explain why what they're using recreationally is actually healthy. Been around people like that since I was a pre-teen. About middle aged now and they're all a bunch of burnouts including the sad they missed out in their teens/early 20s that decided to dive in late 20s because they watched all the YouTube videos on the benefits. All burned out. Not just alcohol and weed. All my acid, shrooms, ketamine, 2c-i, peyote, dmt, whatever friends - damn near all of them burned out and talk like teenagers in their 30s and 40s. Most generally don't even they're enlightened anymore and just want to chill with drugs
Moderation folks. Don't make drugs your religion or personality and you won't have early emotional burn out in life
Believe me, I was headed toward emotional burnout long before I discovered drugs.
Got too easy during Covid so I took a break. Turns out it agreed with me so haven’t had a drop since. Don’t miss it at all despite being a craft beer fan. Easy to replace and I don’t get stupid when I’ve had too much tea.
Tea is absolutely an art no less than beer, and if you're there for the ritual or exploration, it offers both.
It hurts to drink.
Then don't do it. Seems pretty cut and dry.
It literally kills your liver
Alhamdulillah America is becoming halal mashallah.
America is not becoming halal. If anything, we're trending more secular. Participation in Christianity is declining and "Other Religions" are remaining steady at around 6%, as of 2021. We'll see if trends continue.
We'll see what happens with the crazies at the switch. They are trying to crowbar their little book club into the culture and government. I wouldn't be surprised to see their chosen lifestyle getting unwarranted privileges (again), and even some instances where they are able to compel people to be xtians.
Because the elites among the crazies certainly know that belief and participation in their little book club has been trending down for years now (losing about 1% of xtians a year or so for decades). Ironically, they may be doing a disservice to their numbers with their assault on Hispanics, since I wouldn't be surprised if some of those numbers were buttressed by Catholics among Hispanics.
Bro no, alhamdullilah America is on the path to Jannah mashallah.
I think it was just a joke 😂
its been well know even moderate or even low amounts of alcohol daily consumption increases risk of cancers.
Decrease in demand = lower prices
LFGG!
looking for gay group? let's fucking go gang?