New Gallup Poll Shows Dip In Reported Drinking Rates, But How Much Is Partisan Politics Driving That?
As widespread industry concerns about waning alcohol consumption reach a fever pitch, a new Gallup poll isn’t doing much to soothe the ache. According to new data from the American analytics and advisory firm released Wednesday, the U.S. drinking rate has reached a record low.
The survey, conducted between July 7 to 21, revealed that only 54 percent of legal drinking age adults in the U.S. currently consume alcohol. Fluctuating alcohol consumption isn’t anything new. Gallup has surveyed Americans about their drinking habits since 1939 and has tracked the public’s outlook on alcohol’s overall health implications since 2001. Over the years, Gallup has demonstrated periodic gains and losses, but the past few years have seen a marked decline in reported consumption nationwide. Since 2023, reported alcohol consumption has dipped 8 percent.
It’s important to note that Gallup surveys are entirely self-reported and based solely on consumer responses. The current survey’s findings differ slightly from similarly aimed reports that track alcohol consumption rates by sales data.
The agency points to the medical world’s reappraisal of alcohol’s health effects as a primary factor driving the shift. According to the poll, the percentage of Americans who find that moderate drinking is bad for one’s health has climbed from 27 percent in 2021 to 53 percent today. During that same period, the percentage of Americans who believe that moderate drinking is good for one’s health has dropped from 22 percent to just 6 percent.
But further Gallup data shows that the reason for the shifts could go beyond medical concerns.
According to the data, the demographic of people with the most dramatic decrease in reported consumption was Republicans. In 2023, 65 percent of Republicans claimed to drink alcohol. That number plummeted to just 46 percent in the most recent poll. Meanwhile, Democrats have maintained fairly steady consumption rates, with percentages slipping from 64 to 61 percent
The exact reason for this sharp decrease among Republican voters remains unclear, though a Wednesday article from The Financial Times indicates that it could have something to do with the fact that many prominent members of the RNC have been vocal about their abstinence. The most notable is, of course, Republican party leader President Donald Trump.
As the article points out, Trump has abstained from substances since his brother died of alcoholism in 1981. Others in the MAGA movement, like pundits Tucker Carlson and Charlie Kirk, have publicly discussed the importance of alcohol abstinence. The most notable driver, however, is likely health and human services secretary Robert F. Kennedy, who has publicly discussed his experience with sobriety following his recovery from heroin addiction. Kennedy is also the notable figurehead of the MAHA, or Make America Healthy Again, movement, which has driven initiatives to reduce the consumption of processed foods and increase transparency in food labeling and research. However, the MAHA movement refrains from including any commentary on alcohol.
While the sharpest dip in alcohol consumption can be seen among Republicans, it’s not the only cause for the declining rate of overall American consumption. According to the survey, there were also double-digit percentage drops among women, white adults, and people with both high and low annual income rates.
Credit: Gallup
Whether or not alcohol abstention in the aforementioned groups will continue on its current trajectory — and the impact it will have on overall drinking rates — remains to be seen.
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