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After another sharp drop, just 54% of American adults age 18+ say they "have occasion" to drink, almost 10 pts below the 80-yr average of 63%, Gallup reported this morn. This yr's reading is the lowest the co has ever tracked since beginning to ask Americans about their drinking in 1939. It fell another 4 pts from the below-avg reading of 58% in 2024. Gallup tallied declines among every major demographic group and tied the result to even sharper increases in the sense that even moderate drinking is "bad for health." Over half of adults now believe that, up from 39% 2 yrs ago to 53%. The only bright side: 38% of drinkers said they "most often drink" beer, again the clear favorite compared to 30% who mostly turn to spirits and 29% to wine. Historic Drop Widespread, Most Pronounced Among Republicans, Low-Income, Women, White Adults In 2025, older adults caught up with earlier declines in consumption by younger adults. Just 56% of 35-54 yr old adults reported drinking this yr, down from 70% a yr ago and 66% in 2023. The same 56% of 55+ adults reported drinking, but that's down just 5 pts from 2023 and up slightly from yr ago. Just half of 18-34 yr olds said they drink, same as last yr and down from 59% in 2 yrs.Of all major demographic groups, Gallup found the biggest 2-yr drop among Republicans, just 46% of whom said they drink, down a whopping 19 pts from 65% in 2023. That was basically the same as the 64% of Democrats who reported drinking that yr. But consumption barely budged among Democrats, down just 3 pts in 2 yrs. Independents fell somewhere between, down 6 pts to 55%.Economics likely comes into play, the poll found, as just 39% of adults with a household income under $40K said they drink, down from 53% in 2023. But there was also a big drop among higher-income adults, as just 2/3 of adults with household incomes over $100K said they drink, down from close to 80% 2 yrs ago. Women have been stepping back from drinking at a faster rate than men, Gallup found (51% vs 57%, respectively). And while people of color remain less likely to drink than white adults, that gap shrank from 13 pts 2 yrs ago to just 4 pts in 2025 (52% vs 56%, respectively).Health Concerns Rise Sharply Among Older Adults; Changes Frequency Older adults also caught up with the feeling among younger adults that moderate drinking, defined here as 1 or 2 drinks a day, is "bad for health." Half of 35-54 yr olds responded that way in 2025, up from just over a third a yr ago. The feeling was shared by 48% of folks aged 55+, up steadily from just 29% 2 yrs ago. After increasing in earlier yrs, 2/3 of young adults aged 18-34 think moderate drinking is unhealthy, about the same as last yr.The feeling that 1-2 drinks/day is unhealthy increased 9 pts in 1 yr among both men (to 47%) and women (60%). And it increased 7-8 pts among Democrats (to 58%), Independents (55%) and Republicans (44%). Oddly, 55% of adults who think moderate drinking is bad for health say that they drink, compared to 54% of other adults, Gallup pointed out. However, folks who think the habit is unhealthy report drinking fewer drinks on far fewer occasions.A Bit of a Silver Lining: Beer Most Popular Alc Bev Category While fewer adults say they drink, more drinkers say they turn to beer "most often." That figure jumped back up to 38% this yr, expanding the gap with wine & spirits to 8-10 pts for the first time since 2021. Gallup still found a fairly wide divide, however, between the 23% of women and 52% of men who drink beer most. Such a gap is not so evident in spirits (32% vs 29%) and is still flipped almost as sharply for wine (44% vs 14%).

Drinking Drops to All-Time Low of 54% as 53% Think Moderate Drinking is "Bad for Health": Gallup

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