Once again, the annual Gallup Poll suggests that neither vast marketing investments nor ongoing policy tweaks have had much effect on Americans' overall drinking habits. About 2/3 of American adults (Gallup continues to ask those age 18+, presumably to maintain sample consistency) say they "have occasion to use alcoholic beverages." Using the 66% figure found in 2012, that has varied by more than the poll's 4-point margin of error only 4 times since 1985 and is approximately the same as it was in 1974, 1966, and 1945. At the same time, 22% of drinkers said they "sometimes drank too much." That was a notable spike from 17% in 2011, but very close to the average every other year since the mid-1990s, and again virtually the same as in 1978. (Oddly the figure had jumped up to 30-35% in the late 80s thru 1990.)
Other constants: men are more likely to drink and drink more than women, white adults are more likely to drink than other races/ethnicities, beer remains more popular than wine or spirits and about 1/3 of drinkers say they had no drinks in the week prior to the survey. Gallup describes the rest, 2/3 of drinkers, 44% of adults, as "regular drinkers" who consume at least one drink/week. Only 12% of drinkers, 8% of all adults, say they consume a drink/day or more. Given the amount of alcohol beverages consumed in the US annually, that figure strongly suggests that drinkers continue to underreport their consumption. Ref 2
US Drinking Rates Steady Again in 2012
Publishing Info
- Newsletter: Alcohol Issues Insights
- Published: 07/31/2012
- Volume: 29
- Issue #: 8