For the first time in US history, the majority of Americans believe that even moderate alcohol consumption is detrimental to health. Just 54% of Americans say they still drink alcohol. This is the lowest percentage in nearly 20 years. However, it has taken a long time to reach these conclusions.
While a glass of wine was once considered harmless, or even beneficial for cardiovascular health, people are now more cautious about this habit. According to a recent Gallup poll, more and more Americans are giving up alcohol. The agency has been monitoring alcohol consumption behaviours since 1939 and attitudes towards its health impacts since 2001. The latest survey, conducted between 7 and 21 July, confirms that taking care of one’s body and living healthily are trending upwards.
Steady decline
Between 1997 and 2023, the percentage of people who drank alcohol remained steady at over 60%. In 2023, this figure was 62%, in 2024, it fell to 58%, and now it has reached a record low of 54%. Historically, fewer than ten surveys have shown a rate below 60%, notably the first measurement in 1939 at 58%, and a minimum of 55% in 1958.
By contrast, the highest percentages—between 68% and 71%—were recorded between 1974 and 1981, a period characterised by a much more permissive culture.
Today, however, the picture is different: a growing desire to live healthily seems to be prompting more and more Americans to give up alcohol.
A change in perspective
Recent data shows an unprecedented shift in the way Americans view alcohol. In nearly 90 years of Gallup polling, the agency has not identified a similar trend.
This change is particularly noticeable among women, with consumption falling from 62% in 2023 to 51% today—a difference of 11 per cent. Among men, the decline is more modest at 5 percentage points (falling to 57%). Similarly, the percentage of non-Hispanic white adults who consume alcohol has fallen by 11 points, while for black adults it has remained almost unchanged at around 50%.
Young people, who were already more reserved about alcohol a decade ago, have accelerated this trend, with consumption falling from 59% in 2023 to just 50% today. Consequently, for the first time, young people drink less than middle-aged and even older generations. Middle-aged and older adults have also begun to gradually change their perspective, but they lag behind young people.
For the first time, young people drink less than middle-aged and even older generations.
The political contrast is also interesting. While there were no major differences between the parties in recent decades, there has been a clear shift in the last two years. Reported consumption among Republicans has fallen by 19 percentage points to 46%, while the percentage among Democrats has remained almost unchanged at around 61%.
However, a disclaimer should be noted
Even though more Americans believe that drinking “in moderation” is harmful to health, this does not necessarily mean that they are giving up alcohol completely. Around 55% of people who recognise the risks of moderate consumption still drink, a proportion that is almost identical to those without such concerns (54%).
However, the difference lies in frequency and quantity: only half of those concerned about their health say they have drunk alcohol in the last seven days, compared to 69% of those who are not concerned about their health. The former also consume less on average: 4.5 drinks per week, compared to 6.4.
This profound transformation, which can be observed across different social groups, age groups, and political orientations, seems to indicate a new national consciousness: more and more Americans are choosing to protect their health and value life more highly.
But what explains this change?
The decline in alcohol consumption in the United States does not appear to be the result of people turning to other mood-altering substances, such as recreational marijuana, which is now legal in around half of the states. Although marijuana use is higher than it was a decade ago, it has remained relatively stable over the past four years and therefore cannot explain why more Americans are choosing to give up alcohol.
Despite the global lobbying of alcohol producers, the decline in consumption coincides with the emergence of scientific studies showing that any level of alcohol consumption can harm health. These studies contradict old recommendations suggesting that moderation could be beneficial.
The long road to changing attitudes
For Americans, the debate over alcohol consumption has deep historical roots. The country experienced a dramatic episode in the last century when the authorities banned alcohol altogether.
In 1920, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution and the Volstead Act ushered the United States into an era of prohibition. The goal was to remove alcohol from public life in order to combat poverty and domestic violence associated with drunkenness. Many churches and Christian organisations supported Prohibition at the time as part of the temperance movement, seeing it as an opportunity for moral reform in society.
However, reality did not turn out as expected. Following an initial decline in consumption, the ban gave rise to a black market, with speakeasies and organised crime networks proliferating to an unexpected extent. Thus, rather than curing society of alcoholism, Prohibition exacerbated the social and economic problems of the population.
After 13 years of failed attempts, prohibition was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933.
A mental shift
The experience of Prohibition had a profound effect on the American collective consciousness, leading society to deeply internalise the idea that radical solutions are not always the right answer to social problems. This explains why, in recent decades, the problem of alcoholism and the issues arising from uncontrolled alcohol consumption have been approached from a new angle, with the emphasis shifting towards education, information, and personal responsibility.
American society is now witnessing a phenomenon with the potential to achieve what Prohibition set out to do: a change in mentality, rather than legislation. While the state was willing to force change in the 1920s, in the 2020s, change is coming naturally from the individual to society.
In the spiritual realm, this social recalibration has a clear parallel in the change of heart through law versus grace. Prohibition attempted to bring about change through the force of law, achieving small results in the short term and huge unintended consequences. Similarly, the Law, in the biblical sense, can stop behaviour through fear of punishment without having the power to transform deep-seated desires.
What is happening in America today seems to be the result of an internal force, rather than an external prohibition. Real change comes from conviction, and more and more Americans are becoming convinced that drinking, even in moderation, takes a heavy toll on health and relationships.
However, perhaps this decline in consumption is also a subtle sign of a deeper search in which people have realised that drinking does not provide the answer. Alcohol promises relaxation, peace, and ease in relationships. However, the reality of consumption can only lead to the opposite. Instead, the lives of those who accept Christ’s invitation are changed: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). These lives are proof that God’s promise is a promise kept.
