Americans are (still) drinking less than ever before
Americans continue to drink less alcohol than ever before, according to a new Gallup poll.
Only 54% of U.S. adults surveyed by the analytics firm in July said they ever drink alcohol—the same share as last year and the lowest recorded since Gallup began surveying Americans on this topic in 1939, says Lydia Saad, Gallup’s director of U.S. social research.
“We saw a significant decline in people’s use of alcohol last year, but whether that was a one-time reaction or a trend, we had to wait and see,” Saad says. “This year’s result tells us that whatever is happening out there is a sustained change. Drinking has gone down across all age groups.”
More public awareness of alcohol’s health risks could be prompting Americans to drink less, the poll results suggest. A little more than half of Americans surveyed this year said that alcohol is “bad for health,” compared to the less than 30% of people who said that a decade ago; and 86% of people polled said they had heard of recent studies about the long-term health effects of alcohol—a 7% increase from 2024. Drinking alcohol has been linked to several forms of cancer, as well as higher risks of liver and heart disease, among other health effects.
https://time.com/article/2026/08/20/americans-drinking-less-gallup-poll/Open linkView original on lemmy.world
9 replies
My favorite part “alcohol remains the country’s second-deadliest drug, behind tobacco”.
I used to drink to blackout once or twice a month when I was younger to "de-stress".
Once I found weed I literally just stopped drinking. All desire for it evaporated.
I only ever have a drink with a nice meal when I'm out, and considering the economy I stopped doing that years ago.
Why drink when marijuana is cheaper and has no hangover? You can get top grade weed for very cheap these days and it will last longer than a case of beer. Not only that, but it will be a more fun hang and is somewhat “safer” than alcohol use depending on how you consume it.
People don’t know this but marijuana is an appetite suppressant weight loss drug if you do enough of it.
However it is a myth that there aren’t withdrawal symptoms associated with stopping for regular users.
I can spend like $16 on a 10 pack of 10mg THC edibles, take just 1 gummy and be chill and giggling all night, only to wake up feeling calm and refreshed the next morning. Did I mention there's like 10 calories per gummy?
Alcohol can be fun and enjoyable to drink every once in a while, but to me weed wins and there's really no contest.
Honestly because I like the taste of beer. Not everyone is looking to get rocked one way or another.
Alcohol is kind of a social drug. Companies have done a fantastic job at price gouging their drinks. The cost to benefit isn't there for the consumer anymore.
I do occasionally drink but to be honest - it’s okayish at best and expensive. The little spare income I have is going to be spent on hobbies, experiences, or small gifts for loved ones.
At the very bottom of the article: https://newsroom.uw.edu/news-releases/no-safe-level-alcohol-scientific-study-concludes/
which I compare to 80s-90s the recommendation of 1-2 drinks per day, versus in the 00s-10s was raised to 2-3 drinks per day, and now it's generally accepted to say no matter how much you drink, less is better, and none is best.