Nearly seven years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we see signs that rates of alcohol use had finally begun to drop. A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that any alcohol use, including heavy drinking, among adults in the US declined from 2022 to 2024. However, the rates are still higher than they were in 2018.
The study used cross-sectional data from 2018 to 2024 taken from more than 114,000 respondents to the National Health Interview Survey, which is administered by the US Census Bureau. According to the study, the share of adults who drank any alcohol in the past year fell by nearly 2%, and the share who drank heavily fell by more than 8% from 2022 to 2024.
HAVE DIFFERENT GENERATIONS SEEN A MORE SUBSTANTIAL DROP IN ALCOHOL USE?
Gen Z appears to be leading the way on the decline in drinking rates. Gen Z adults, who are between the ages of 18 and 29, saw the largest decline in any alcohol use with an over 5% drop. Heavy drinking among millennials, who are between the ages of 30 and 49, dropped by 17% between 2022 and 2024. Apparently, social dynamics, including the rise of the sober-curious movement and more awareness of the health-related harms of alcohol.
ARE ANY AGE GROUPS DRINKING MORE?
Yes. People between the ages of 50 and 64 — members of Generation X and the youngest Baby Boomers— continue to drink at rates higher than before the pandemic. They remain at high risk for alcohol-related conditions such as liver disease, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Heavy drinking for this group increased by more than 36% and any drinking by 4% from 2018 to 2024. Those between the ages of 50 to 64 are over two and a half times as likely to die from chronic alcohol abuse compared to acute alcohol-related conditions, according to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics.
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