A new Gallup poll finds that just 54% of U.S. adults say they drink alcohol, tying last year for the lowest rate Gallup has recorded since it began tracking Americans’ drinking habits in 1939.
At the same time, a majority now believes that having even one or two drinks a day is bad for your health.
The shift has happened quickly. The percentage of Americans who drink fell from 62% in 2023 to 58% in 2024 and 54% in 2025, where it remained this year.
The latest findings are based on Gallup interviews with U.S. adults ages 18 and older conducted July 1-19.
HEALTH CONCERNS
Health concerns may be playing a role in the decline. Fifty-one percent of Americans now say drinking one or two alcoholic beverages a day is “bad for one’s health,” statistically similar to the record-high 53% who said so last year.
That represents a dramatic change from 2001, when Gallup first asked the question. At that time, only 27% said moderate drinking was bad for health, while 22% believed it was good for health and 46% thought it made no difference.
The changing attitudes come as medical evidence has increasingly challenged the once-common idea that moderate alcohol consumption — particularly red wine — may be good for the heart.
The U.S. Surgeon General warned in 2025 that alcohol consumption increases the risk of at least seven types of cancer, including breast, colorectal, liver, mouth, throat, esophageal and voice box cancers. The advisory noted that cancer risk can rise even at relatively low levels of alcohol consumption.
Americans who continue to drink also appear to be consuming less. Drinkers reported an average of 3.2 alcoholic beverages during the previous week, compared with an average of 3.9 drinks across the five Gallup surveys before 2025.