A record share of Americans are giving booze the boot

Axios – Wednesday, August 13, 2025
By Avery Lotz

The percentage of U.S. adults consuming alcohol has hit a new low, according to Gallup data released Wednesday.

The big picture: The share of Americans who say that drinking in moderation is detrimental to one’s health hitting a historic high, a belief that’s echoed by recent scientific research.

Driving the news: In 2025, just over half (54%) of U.S. adults reported having alcoholic beverages on occasion. Between 1997 and 2023, at least 60% said they drank.

• Drinking among young adults had been trending downward, and Gallup notes that has only accelerated. Since 2023, the percentage of adults under 35 that reported drinking fell by nine percentage points, from 59% to 50%.

Zoom in: The drop in women drinking from 2023 to 2025 has been more pronounced than it has among men, though both groups have seen a decline.

• Among partisans, there’s a drinking divide: Among Republicans, the share who drink has dropped sharply in the last two years (19 percentage points), but there’s only been a three-point slip for Democrats.

State of play: Meanwhile, the majority of Americans — a first for Gallup’s trend — say drinking in moderation (one or two drinks a day) is bad for one’s health.

• That belief follows increases in 2023 and 2024, including a surge among young adults. Around 2001 to 2011, the share of U.S. adults who said moderate alcohol consumption was bad for one’s health hovered around a quarter.
• Since 2023, a majority of 18- to 34-year-olds have viewed moderate drinking as bad for health.

Follow the money: And as alcohol consumption has slipped, the nonalcoholic beverage sector has boomed.

• Bars and bottle shops in recent years have increasingly catered to the “sober-curious” as consumer behavior mirrors consumption trends.

Zoom out: Research and health organization guidance on safe alcohol consumption has evolved in recent years.

• Notably, former U.S. surgeon general Vivek Murthy in January released an advisory detailing the link between alcohol consumption and several kinds of cancer and called on Congress to update warning labels on booze.
• The World Health Organization has emphasized that there is no safe amount of alcohol consumption that does not affect health, and the CDC warns that drinking in moderation may “increase your overall risks of death and chronic disease.”

The bottom line: Goodbye, “Dry January.” Cheers to sober lifestyles.

Methodology: Results are based on telephone interviews conducted by ReconMR July 7-21 2025, with a random sample of 1,002 adults. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

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