Americans seem to be on a health kick lately. Protein-heavy diets are back, even though experts say you’re probably already eating more than you need, and supplements are loaded with heavy metals. Smoking is thankfully down, even if cigarette packaging is en vogue, and the US Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. is a nicotine pouch packer.
And, perhaps surprisingly, according to pollster Gallup, drinking is on the decline. Of course, this might only be news to you if you’ve been busy leading your life and haven’t read any marketing on how younger generations are consuming less booze. Still, the Gallup poll is quite remarkable in that they’ve tracked Americans’ drinking behavior and attitudes since 1939, just six years after the end of prohibition. The number of people who say they consume alcohol has reached an all-time low, 54%, a far cry from a peak of 71% in 1976-78 (something had to fuel your grandparents’ key parties).
Drinking among young adults has been in decline for the last decade, but this trend has only accelerated over the past couple of years, and now stands at fifty percent, lower than among middle-aged adults.
