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Euronews
2 days ago
- Health
- Euronews
Americans are rethinking alcohol amid concerns over health risks
Fewer Americans are reporting that they drink alcohol amid a growing belief that even moderate alcohol consumption is a health risk, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday. A record high percentage of US adults, 53 per cent, now say moderate drinking is bad for their health, up from 28 per cent in 2015. The uptick in doubt about alcohol's benefits is largely driven by young adults – the age group that is most likely to believe drinking 'one or two drinks a day' can cause health hazards – but older adults are also now increasingly likely to think moderate drinking carries risks. As concerns about health impacts rise, fewer Americans are reporting that they drink. The survey finds that 54 per cent of US adults say they drink alcoholic beverages such as liquor, wine or beer. That's lower than at any other point in the past three decades. The findings of the poll, which was conducted in July, indicate that after years of many believing that moderate drinking was harmless – or even beneficial – worries about alcohol consumption are taking hold. According to Gallup's data, even those who consume alcohol are drinking less. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, US government data showed Americans' alcohol consumption was trending up. But other US government surveys have shown a decline in certain types of drinking, particularly among teenagers and young adults. The US is not alone in this trend. European countries, including Belgium, have recorded a decline in alcohol consumption in recent years. This comes alongside a new drumbeat of information about alcohol's risks. While moderate drinking was once thought to have benefits for heart health, health professionals in recent years have pointed to overwhelming evidence that alcohol consumption leads to negative health outcomes and is a leading cause of cancer. Growing scepticism about alcohol's benefits In the past, moderate drinking was thought to have some benefits. That idea came from imperfect studies that largely didn't include younger people and couldn't prove cause and effect. Now the scientific consensus has shifted, and several countries recently lowered their alcohol consumption recommendations. Earlier this year, the outgoing US surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, recommended a label on bottles of beer, wine, and liquor that would clearly outline the link between alcohol consumption and cancer. The federal government's current dietary guidelines recommend Americans not drink or, if they do consume alcohol, men should limit themselves to two drinks a day or fewer while women should stick to one or fewer. Gallup's director of US social research, Lydia Saad, said shifting health advice throughout older Americans' lives may be a reason they have been more gradual than young adults to recognise alcohol as harmful. 'Older folks may be a little more hardened in terms of the whiplash that they get with recommendations,' Saad said. 'It may take them a little longer to absorb or accept the information,' she added. 'Whereas, for young folks, this is the environment that they've grown up in. ... In many cases, it would be the first thing young adults would have heard as they were coming into adulthood'. The US government is expected to release new guidelines later this year.
Time Magazine
2 days ago
- Health
- Time Magazine
More and More Americans Are Forgoing Alcohol. Why?
The percentage of adults in the U.S. who report drinking alcohol is at a record low, according to a Gallup poll released on Wednesday. Only 54% of adults said they consume alcohol—the smallest share since Gallup started tracking Americans' drinking behavior in 1939. And a majority of Americans (about 53%) said they believe that even just 'one or two drinks a day' is bad for their health. That's a leap from the roughly 25% of Americans who held this view from 2001 through 2011. Even the Americans who said they do drink alcohol reported consuming less of it than those in past polls. Just 24% said they'd had a drink in the past 24 hours—another record low. And 40% said they hadn't had an alcoholic beverage in more than a week—the highest figure in more than two decades. The decline is a recent one: From 1997 to 2023, the percentage of Americans who said they drank alcohol was 60% or higher, according to Gallup. That number dropped from 62% in 2023 to 58% in 2024 before reaching the record-low seen this year. Why are Americans drinking less? Researchers said these results, which were part of Gallup's annual Consumption Habits survey conducted in July, coincide with a growing body of research in recent years that has indicated that any amount of alcohol consumption may have negative health ramifications. While some studies over the years have indicated drinking moderate amounts of alcohol could have possible benefits, many health experts now say that there is substantial evidence of the risks associated with alcohol. In 2023, the World Health Organization said, 'When it comes to alcohol consumption, there is no safe amount that does not affect health.' And at the start of this year, then-U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy proposed putting a label on bottles of beer, wine, and liquor to warn Americans that alcohol is a leading cause of cancer. Lydia Saad, Gallup Director of U.S. Social Research, stresses that her analysis of the poll notes a correlation between declining alcohol use and a growing percentage of Americans who believe moderate drinking is unhealthy—rather than asserting that the concerns are causing the trend. Dr. Ellen Burnham, a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine who was not involved in the Gallup poll, says she was a little surprised by Gallup's findings because she has often treated patients with alcohol-related conditions or complications, particularly in the past few years. While the research on the risks of alcohol consumption could be part of the reason for declining alcohol use, she says that might not be the whole explanation and posits other theories as well, including that some people might not have the disposable income to buy alcohol or may have pre-existing health conditions that could make them less inclined to drink. According to Saad's analysis, it doesn't appear that the decline in alcohol use is being caused by people turning to other mood-altering substances, based on previous data. Although marijuana use, for instance, has increased in the past decade, that number has been relatively stable in recent years. Burnham says it's promising that the Gallup poll found that fewer people are drinking overall. But she points out that many Americans still drink and have alcohol-related health complications, and that alcohol consumption varies depending on geographic region. 'I think it remains to be seen' whether the decline in alcohol consumption will continue, Burnham says. 'It's encouraging to see that some of the educational messaging is hopefully reaching an audience, and hopefully it's the audience that's engaging in risky drinking and is really rethinking about their drinking habits and how to diminish them or decrease them.' Younger people lead the trend—but fewer older adults are drinking, too For years, younger adults have been less likely to say they drink alcohol compared to middle-aged and older adults, according to Saad's analysis. That trend has only continued: 59% of younger adults in 2023 said they drank alcohol, compared to 50% in 2025. Experts who previously spoke with TIME suggested that a decline in drinking among younger adults could be driven by a variety of factors, including changing views of alcohol and socialization patterns in the age group. But fewer middle-aged and older adults are reporting drinking now compared to a couple years ago as well. 'Older folks have lived through the period when the medical advice was 'drinking could be beneficial to you,' so hearing that it's now harmful to your health is a 180 for them and so they have to mentally move a bigger distance to say 'maybe I shouldn't be drinking,'' Saad says, explaining a possible explanation behind this trend. Younger adults, meanwhile, have likely heard about the risks associated with alcohol since they became old enough to drink, 'so it's not, I think, as much of a behavior change for them … as it would be for their parents and grandparents who have to do a real pivot in terms of how they look at the risks of drinking,' she continues. A partisan split emerges In previous years, researchers found little difference in the drinking behaviors of people with varying political leanings. But the percentage of Republicans who report drinking has fallen significantly over the past couple years, according to Gallup's findings, opening a notable partisan gap. In 2023, 65% of Republicans said they drink, but that number plummeted to 46% in 2025. Meanwhile, that figure for Democrats has remained relatively steady, dropping just 3 percentage points from 64% in 2023 to 61% in 2024, and holding at 61% in 2025. Saad says analysts found that the declining alcohol use was 'largely just across the board among Republicans.' More research would need to be conducted to determine the reason for the partisan split, she says: so far, there's no theory strong enough to explain it.
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Health
- Boston Globe
Why many Americans are rethinking alcohol, according to new Gallup poll
Advertisement The findings of the poll, which was conducted in July, indicate that after years of many believing that moderate drinking was harmless — or even beneficial — worries about alcohol consumption are taking hold. According to Gallup's data, even those who consume alcohol are drinking less. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The federal government is updating new dietary guidelines, including those around alcohol. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, government data showed US alcohol consumption was trending up. But other government surveys have shown a decline in certain types of drinking, particularly among teenagers and young adults. This comes alongside a new drumbeat of information about alcohol's risks. While moderate drinking was once thought to have benefits for heart health, health professionals in recent years have pointed to overwhelming evidence that alcohol consumption leads to negative health outcomes and is a leading cause of cancer. Advertisement Younger adults have been quicker than older Americans to accept that drinking is harmful, but older adults are coming around to the same view. About two-thirds of 18- to 34-year-olds believe moderate drinking is unhealthy, according to the poll, up from about 4 in 10 in 2015. Older adults are less likely to see alcohol as harmful — about half of Americans age 55 or older believe this — but that's a substantial increase, too. In 2015, only about 2 in 10 adults age 55 or older thought alcohol was bad for their health. In the past, moderate drinking was thought to have some benefits. That idea came from imperfect studies that largely didn't include younger people and couldn't prove cause and effect. Now the scientific consensus has shifted, and several countries recently lowered their alcohol consumption recommendations. Earlier this year, the outgoing US surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, recommended a label on bottles of beer, wine, and liquor that would clearly outline the link between alcohol consumption and cancer. The federal government's current dietary guidelines recommend Americans not drink or, if they do consume alcohol, men should limit themselves to two drinks a day or fewer while women should stick to one or fewer. Gallup's director of US social research, Lydia Saad, said shifting health advice throughout older Americans' lives may be a reason they have been more gradual than young adults to recognize alcohol as harmful. 'Older folks may be a little more hardened in terms of the whiplash that they get with recommendations,' Saad said. 'It may take them a little longer to absorb or accept the information. Whereas, for young folks, this is the environment that they've grown up in ... in many cases, it would be the first thing young adults would have heard as they were coming into adulthood.' Advertisement The government is expected to release new guidelines later this year, under the directive of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has promised big changes. Kennedy has not hinted at how the alcohol recommendations may shift. Slightly more than half of Americans, 54 percent, report that they drink alcohol — a low in Gallup's data that is especially pronounced among women and young adults. Young Americans' alcohol consumption has been trending downward for years, accelerating the overall decline in alcohol consumption. In sharp contrast with Gallup's findings two decades ago, when young adults were likeliest to report drinking, young adults' drinking rate is now slightly below middle-aged and older adults. Americans' reported drinking is among the lowest since the question was first asked in 1939. For most of the last few decades, at least 6 in 10 Americans have reported drinking alcoholic beverages, only dipping below that point a few times in the question's history. Even if concerns about health risks aren't causing some adults to give up alcohol entirely, these worries could be influencing how often they drink. The survey found that adults who think moderate drinking is bad for one's health are just as likely as people who don't share those concerns to report that they drink, but fewer of the people with health worries had consumed alcohol recently. About half of those who worry moderate drinking is unhealthy said they had a drink in the previous week, compared with about 7 in 10 who did not think drinking was bad for their health. Advertisement Overall, only about one-quarter of Americans who drink said they had consumed alcohol in the prior 24 hours, a record low in the survey. Roughly 4 in 10 said that it had been more than a week since they had poured a drink.
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Health
- Newsweek
Drinking Rate Plunges to Record Low in US, New Poll Shows
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Alcohol consumption among U.S. adults has fallen to its lowest recorded level in nearly 90 years, with 54 percent saying they drink, down from 58 percent a year ago, according to Gallup's latest annual survey. Why It Matters Gallup has tracked alcohol consumption among U.S. adults since 1939. The latest figure falls below the previous record low of 55 percent in 1958. The poll also found that a majority of Americans, 53 percent, believe that moderate drinking is bad for one's health. Alcohol can lead to many health problems, including liver diseases and increased risk of some cancers. Mixed drinks are displayed at a bar in Baltimore on February 8, 2023. Mixed drinks are displayed at a bar in Baltimore on February 8, 2023. AP Photo/Julio Cortez What To Know The latest Gallup survey, conducted July 7-21, found that a smaller share of Americans are drinking alcohol than at any point in the poll's history. In the mid-1970s, the share peaked at 71 percent for three consecutive years starting in 1976. Since then, drinking rates have generally trended downward, averaging about 60 percent, with periodic rises and dips. In 2022, 67 percent of adults said they drank alcohol, which Gallup noted as an outlier, followed by 62 percent in 2023, 58 percent in 2024 and 54 percent this year. The poll found that the decline in drinking is disproportionately among women, down 11 percentage points since 2023, to 51 percent, whereas men are down 5 points, at 57 percent. Along party lines, 61 percent of surveyed Democrats drink compared with 46 percent of Republicans. A record-low 54% of Americans say they consume alcohol. — Gallup (@Gallup) August 13, 2025 The survey also found that 53 percent of Americans say drinking in moderation, which is one to two drinks a day, is bad for one's health. Thirty-seven percent believe it does not make a difference. The results come as 45 percent of Americans believe moderate drinking is bad for health, according to a Gallup poll last year. That poll found drinking beliefs vary greatly among age groups, with 65 percent of young U.S. adults aged 18 to 34 believing that alcohol consumption negatively affects one's health, while 37 percent and 39 percent hold that view among those aged 35 to 54 and 55 and older, respectively. The view has shifted sharply in recent years. Between 2001 and 2011, about 25 percent of Americans said drinking was good for one's health. Women are more likely than men to view moderate drinking as unhealthy, 60 percent to 47 percent, respectively. The poll also found the lowest recorded figure of average number of drinks over the past week since 1996 at 2.8. What People Are Saying Lydia Saad, Gallup's director of social research, in the August 13 survey announcement: "The declines in alcohol consumption does not appear to be caused by people shifting to other mood-altering substances—in particular, recreational marijuana, which is now legal in about half of U.S. states." The Office of the Surgeon General, in a January 2025 announcement: "Alcohol consumption is the third-leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity." What Happens Next As Americans' drinking habits shift, the change is expected to affect the alcohol industry as well as the growing market for alternative beverages, driven in part by rising health concerns.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
US alcohol consumption at record low as health concerns rise, survey finds
Bengaluru: Alcohol consumption among adults in the U.S. is at the lowest level on record, a survey by analytics firm Gallup showed on Wednesday, as most Americans, for the first time, view even moderate drinking as harmful. Gallup's latest Consumption Habits survey, conducted annually, showed that about 54 per cent Americans reported drinking alcohol, compared with 58 per cent in 2024 and 62 per cent in 2023. The figure falls below the previous record low of 55 per cent in 1958 in the nearly nine decades of tracking by Gallup. Alcohol sales have been falling since the pandemic drinking binge, as inflation and interest rates stretch consumer wallets. Spirit makers now also face growing warnings from public health authorities who say drinking even small amounts of alcohol is associated with at least seven types of cancer. A majority of Americans - 53 per cent - say moderate drinking is bad for health, Gallup found, up from 45 per cent last year. Fewer U.S. drinkers are consuming alcohol regularly, with a record-low 24 per cent saying they had a drink in the previous day and 40 per cent reporting more than a week since their last - the highest share since 2000, the survey found. Average intake over the past seven days fell to 2.8 drinks, the lowest since 1996 and down from 3.8 a year ago, far below the 2003 peak of 5.1 drinks per week, the reports showed. "The declines in alcohol consumption does not appear to be caused by people shifting to other mood-altering substances - in particular, recreational marijuana, which is now legal in about half of U.S. states," Lydia Saad, Gallup's director of social research, said.
