A Gallup survey released Thursday found that alcohol consumption among Americans has reached its lowest level since data collection began in 1939. The poll reported that 54 percent of U.S. adults currently consume alcohol, the same percentage recorded last year.
The findings reflect a downward trend in self-reported drinking over the past several years. According to Gallup, the share of Americans who drink fell from 62 percent in 2023 to 58 percent in 2024, before reaching the current level of 54 percent in 2025 and 2026. The decline was observed across nearly all demographic groups, including men, women, white adults, nonwhite adults, and all age categories.
The survey also measured public perception of health risks, finding that 51 percent of respondents believe consuming one to two drinks per day is harmful to health. This data follows a shift in federal policy under the Trump administration. The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) removed previous recommendations that limited alcohol to one drink for women and two for men, replacing them with the general advice to "consume less alcohol for better health."
Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of CMS, recently stated that alcohol should be consumed socially and in moderation, specifically advising against drinking during breakfast. This shift in federal messaging coincides with the administration's decision not to publish the results of a multi-year study that began in 2022. That study, eventually published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs in June, concluded there are no health benefits to moderate drinking and recommended a limit of one drink or less per day.
The drop in drinking rates has knock-on effects for federal health policy and future dietary guidelines. While the current 2025-2030 DGA provides broader advice than previous iterations, researchers argued their findings on the risks of moderate drinking should have been integrated into the official standards. The Gallup survey, conducted July 1-19 among 1,200 adults, has a margin of error of 4 percentage points. No specific dates for future policy revisions or additional federal drinking studies were reported.