Gallup: Alcohol Consumption Increasingly Viewed as Unhealthy

 

Alcohol Consumption Increasingly Viewed as Unhealthy

Young adults aged 18 to 34 are leading the charge to drink less for better health

by Megan Brenan

Americans increasingly believe drinking in moderation is bad for one’s health. However, the majority think the best advice for a person who drinks an average amount of alcohol is to reduce how much they consume rather than stop drinking altogether. Young adults are more likely than middle-aged and older adults to say alcohol presents health risks, and their alcohol consumption has dropped significantly in recent years. 

Gallup has measured Americans’ views of the health effects of moderate drinking 10 times since 2001. The latest data, from the July 1-21 Consumption Habits poll, show    

Drinking one or two alcoholic beverages per day is bad for one’s health.
45%	Yes in this study
39%	Increased “yes” from last year of 6 points
28%	Increased “yes” from 2018 of 17 points
43%	Makes no difference for one’s health in this study: lowest on record
8%	Has positive effect upon one’s health: lowest on record

Advice to those drinking one or two alcoholic beverages per day
55%	reduce the amount they drink
22%	stop drinking alcohol altogether
17%	continue to drink an average amount
6%	no opinion

Americans’ concerns about alcohol consumption are not tied to an increase in reports of drinking-related problems in families. Rather, the 25% of U.S. adults who now say drinking has ever been a cause of trouble in their family is the lowest since 1996.

Recent Studies of Long-Term Effects of Alcohol have had only a slight effect upon opinions
19%	Have heard a great deal	51% bad for health
30%	Have heard a fair amount
30%	Have heard not much at all	40% bad for health
21%	Nothing at all

Advice to those who are drinking one or two alcoholic beverages per day
Age Group	Stop Drinking	Reduce Drinking	No Change	No Opinion
Age 18-34	23%	67%	10%	Less than 1%
Age 35-54	23%	51%	21%	5%
Age 55 plus	21%	52%	19%	8%

Self- report of Alcohol Consumption by Americans
58%	Report occasionally Drink Alcohol, slightly below trend of 63% dating back to 1939
	61%	report drinking with the past week
	28%	past 24 hours
	33%	two to seven days ago
	38%	more than a week ago
	4 drinks in the past week
	16%	say they over-indulge: fifth consecutive reading below 20%, lowest in trend
From 1978 through 2010, more than 20% of Americans, reaching as high as 35% in 1989, reported sometimes drinking more than they should