Alcohol consumption in the United States is at its lowest point in nearly 90 years, according to a newly released Gallup poll. 

The survey, conducted last month as part of Gallup’s annual Consumption Habits study, found that 54 percent of Americans currently consume alcohol. This marks the lowest rate recorded since Gallup began collecting data on drinking habits in 1939, six years after the end of prohibition.

“This coincides with a growing belief among Americans that moderate alcohol consumption is bad for one’s health, now the majority view for the first time,” Gallup said in a press release. “For the first time in Gallup’s trend, a majority of Americans, 53%, say drinking in moderation, or ‘one or two drinks a day,’ is bad for one’s health.”

Health concerns appear to be a significant factor in shifting attitudes. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism highlights that alcohol affects at least nine body systems. According to the institute’s website, “Current research points to health risks even at low amounts of alcohol consumption, regardless of beverage type.”

For those who do drink, consumption levels are also declining. Gallup reports that drinkers currently average about 2.8 drinks per week. Notably, Republicans have shown a sharp decrease in drinking over the past two years, falling 19 points to 46 percent, but not Democrats, who are holding fairly steady at 61 percent.

“The decline in drinking has been more pronounced among women (down 11 percentage points since 2023, to 51%) than among men (down five points, to 57%),” Gallup writes. “Drinking has also declined 11 points among non-Hispanic White adults, while it has been fairly steady at around 50% among people of color.”

“Young adults had already become less likely to report drinking alcohol a decade ago, but that trend has only accelerated, with the rate falling from 59% in 2023 to 50% today,” Gallup says.

Historically, alcohol consumption peaked between 1974 and 1981, when 68 percent to 71 percent of Americans reported drinking. Today, beer remains the most popular alcoholic beverage in America, despite its declining preference, with the drinking rate experiencing three consecutive years of decline.

Gallup attributes the drop in alcohol consumption to changing perceptions about health risks linked to drinking rather than a shift to other substances like recreational marijuana, which is now legal in approximately half of the states.  

The trend follows more reports that alcohol is just not safe. Last year, the World Health Organization released a comprehensive report that declared, “when it comes to alcohol consumption, there is no safe amount that does not affect health.”

“Americans’ drinking habits are shifting amid the medical world’s reappraisal of alcohol’s health effects,” Gallup writes. “The continuation of these trends may hinge on whether recent pronouncements about drinking’s risks are the final word on the subject, similar to how the U.S. surgeon general’s warnings about tobacco in the 1960s marked the start of a long-term decline in smoking. The trajectory of U.S. drinking could also depend on how much doctors, health authorities and policymakers reinforce the message that no amount of alcohol is risk-free.”