America officially has a problem drinking.
The drinking problem? Well, that's now on the alcohol distributers, because almost half of Americans do not drink, the lowest percentage in three decades.
Yes, this is nearly the lowest percentage recorded by Gallup since 1939, just 6 years after the end of prohibition. Lots of people are just no longer drinking.
Here's the AP:
The findings of the poll, which was conducted in July, indicate that after years of many believing that moderate drinking was harmless — or even beneficial — worries about alcohol consumption are taking hold. According to Gallup's data, even those who consume alcohol are drinking less.
So I guess Millennials with their insane binge drinking sort of ruined alcohol for everyone? And now all the younger generations think it's completely unhealthy?
But there are other theories.
More from the AP:
Younger adults have been quicker than older Americans to accept that drinking is harmful, but older adults are coming around to the same view.
About two-thirds of 18- to 34-year-olds believe moderate drinking is unhealthy, according to the poll, up from about 4 in 10 in 2015. Older adults are less likely to see alcohol as harmful — about half of Americans age 55 or older believe this — but that's a substantial increase, too. In 2015, only about 2 in 10 adults age 55 or older thought alcohol was bad for their health.
The health nuts are killing alcohol, it would appear.
Prohibition couldn't do it, moralism couldn't do it, but YouTube health "experts" are finally destroying the alcohol industry.
Young Americans' alcohol consumption has been trending downward for years, accelerating the overall decline in alcohol consumption. In sharp contrast with Gallup's findings two decades ago, when young adults were likeliest to report drinking, young adults' drinking rate is now slightly below middle-aged and older adults.
Americans' reported drinking is among the lowest since the question was first asked in 1939. For most of the last few decades, at least 6 in 10 Americans have reported drinking alcoholic beverages, only dipping below that point a few times in the question's history.
But don't worry, alcohol manufacturers, some who DO still drink are making up for lost customers.
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