Americans are drinking less alcohol than ever before.

Fewer Americans say they’re drinking alcohol these days: Only 54% report they consume alcoholic beverages, the lowest percentage in nearly 90 years of polls that track alcohol consumption across the country.

That sobering statistic comes from Gallup, which has polled Americans on their drinking habits since 1939. The record low of 54% in 2025 compares with the all-time high, 71%, reported from 1976 to 1978.

Learn more: Drink less alcohol to reduce hypertension.

Why? Gallup says the results coincide with research that shows any level of alcohol consumption can be bad for your health. Even low levels of drinking can lead to certain cancers and heart problems, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Poll results were released Aug. 13. Here are some findings.

Americans' use of alcoholic beverages has declined

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The decline in drinking echoes a reversal from earlier studies that showed moderate drinking could provide some benefits, Gallup says. Though reports vary on risks and benefits, “no level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health,” the World Health Organization said in 2023.

Definitions of moderate drinking also vary among health agencies and are different for men and women, the Mayo Clinic says. “It means on days when a person does drink, women do not have more than one drink, and men do not have more than two drinks,” the clinic says.

Examples of one drink include:

  • 12 fluid ounces of regular beer
  • 5 fluid ounces of wine
  • 1.5 fluid ounces of hard liquor or distilled spirits

More people think drinking is bad for you

The perception that drinking can damage health gained traction this year, Gallup says. More than half of those surveyed said drinking is bad for your health, up from 45% in 2024. Only 6% said drinking is good for your health.

Younger adults more likely to avoid alcohol

Younger adults, those ages 18 to 34, are the most likely to believe drinking is bad for your health, Gallup says: 66% express that sentiment. People ages 35 to 44 were second-highest in that category: 50% and 48% of those 55 and older responded the same.

At 60%, women are more likely to see moderate drinking as unhealthy versus men (47%), the survey said.

NOTE Results for the Gallup poll are based on phone interviews conducted by ReconMR July 7-21 with a random sample of 1,002 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. For results based on the total sample of 583 adults who drink alcoholic beverages, the margin of sampling error is ±5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.

SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Gallup; Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fewer Americans say they're drinking alcohol these days. Here's why

Reporting by Janet Loehrke and George Petras, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect