LITTLE BY LITTLE –
Jan. 12, 2026 – New data indicate that alcohol consumption among adults in the United States has begun relatively rapidly declining in the past 2 to 3 years. Additional surveillance is needed to determine whether these declines sustain over time; if they do, it may portend significant improvements to population health. These recent trends among adults in the United States reverse longer standing trends. While alcohol consumption has been declining among adolescents and young adults for over three decades, consumption among middle aged adults has generally been steady or accelerating, as has per capita consumption. Three years are not sufficient to know whether the downward trend in alcohol use in the United States is a blip or can be sustained, but regardless, the new data are promising. If these trends hold, they may produce population level improvements in health and mortality.
The reasons why alcohol use has taken a sudden turn in the United States, and in other countries as well, can only be speculated. Certainly, macro-economic concerns about inflation and affordability may be influencing buyer behaviour. Beyond economic considerations, it is possible that the public are becoming more aware of the adverse health consequences of alcohol use, even in what has historically been considered ‘moderate’ amounts. Data from the Gallup poll point to Americans’ increasing endorsement that even moderate alcohol consumption is detrimental for health [1]. This could indicate that scientific evidence and data on the adverse consequences to health of alcohol use, even at low levels, which have been accumulating over decades [8], are penetrating the public sphere. Factors like the US Surgeon General’s report on alcohol and cancer are high profile examples of scientific evidence on alcohol being communicated to the public.
