Washington, Aug 13 (AP) Fewer Americans are consuming alcohol as a growing belief takes root that moderate drinking poses health risks, according to a new Gallup poll released on Wednesday.
A historic high of 53% of U.S. adults now consider moderate drinking harmful to health, a significant increase from 28% in 2015. This increase in caution is mainly driven by young adults, who are most likely to believe that having "one or two drinks a day" can be damaging to health, though older adults are also becoming more wary of the risks of moderate drinking.
As public concern mounts over health implications, the number of Americans who report drinking alcohol has diminished. The survey reveals that 54% of U.S. adults consume alcoholic drinks like liquor, wine, or beer — a decrease to levels not seen in the last 30 years.
The survey, conducted in July, indicates a shift in perception from the belief that moderate drinking was harmless — or even beneficial — to growing concerns about alcohol consumption's health impacts. Even regular drinkers are reportedly consuming less alcohol, according to Gallup's data.
The federal government is currently revising its dietary guidelines, including those concerning alcohol. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed a rise in U.S. alcohol consumption. However, recent government surveys point to a reduction in specific drinking practices, particularly among teenagers and young adults.
This trend coincides with an increasing flow of information about the dangers of alcohol. Though moderate drinking was once linked to heart health benefits, health experts now present overwhelming evidence that alcohol consumption leads to negative health outcomes and is a significant cause of cancer.
Rising Skepticism About Alcohol's Benefits Younger adults have been quicker to acknowledge the detrimental effects of drinking than their older counterparts, although older adults are gradually reaching the same conclusion.
Currently, about two-thirds of those aged 18 to 34 perceive moderate drinking as unhealthy, a rise from about 40% in 2015. While older adults are less likely to view alcohol as harmful — with only about half of Americans aged 55 or older holding this belief — this view has nevertheless increased substantially. In 2015, only 20% of adults aged 55 and older considered alcohol hazardous to health.
In previous years, the perception of moderate drinking having certain benefits originated from studies that were less than rigorous, often excluding younger participants and failing to establish clear causality. Now, the scientific consensus has shifted, prompting several countries to lower their alcohol consumption recommendations.
Earlier this year, the outgoing U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, proposed labels on beer, wine, and liquor bottles to explicitly outline the link between alcohol consumption and cancer.
Current federal dietary guidelines suggest that Americans should abstain from drinking or, if they do, men should limit intake to two drinks or fewer per day, and women to one or fewer.
Lydia Saad, Gallup's director of U.S. Social Research, indicated that shifting health advice over the years might be why older Americans have been slower than younger adults to recognize the harmful effects of alcohol.
"Older folks might have become somewhat skeptical due to the back-and-forth nature of recommendations," Saad explained. "They may need more time to process and accept the information. For young folks, this is the environment they grew up in, and it could well be the first significant piece of advice they received as they entered adulthood."
The government is expected to announce new guidelines later this year under the direction of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has promised significant changes. However, Kennedy has not provided specific insights into how the alcohol guidelines may change.
Decline in Drinking Rates Just a little over half of Americans, 54%, report drinking alcohol, a historic low according to Gallup data. This decline is most notable among women and younger adults.
The alcohol consumption among young Americans has been trending down for several years, accelerating the overall decline.
Contrary to Gallup’s findings from two decades ago, when young adults were the most likely to report drinking, their current drinking rate now falls slightly below that of middle-aged and older adults.
Americans' reported alcohol consumption is among the lowest since Gallup first posed the question in 1939. For most of recent decades, at least 60% of Americans reported drinking alcoholic beverages, dipping below this point only a few times in history. (AP) NPK NPK
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