NEW YORK: A recent Gallup survey shows that a narrow majority of Americans now believe even moderate alcohol consumption negatively affects health, as overall drinking levels in the United States continue to decline.
The poll found that 54 percent of Americans reported drinking alcohol occasionally or regularly in 2025, the lowest level recorded since Gallup began tracking alcohol consumption in 1939, shortly after the end of Prohibition. Previously, drinking levels had remained above 60 percent from 1997 to 2023.
Among those who do drink, consumption is decreasing. The average number of drinks consumed in the past week was 2.8, the lowest figure Gallup has recorded since 1996.
Attitudes toward alcohol have also shifted significantly. The number of Americans who consider moderate drinking—up to one or two drinks per day—as harmful to personal health rose to 53 percent in 2025, compared with just 27 percent in the early 2000s. Gallup noted that this reflects growing public awareness amid the medical community’s reassessment of alcohol’s health risks.
In January, then-U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for alcohol packaging to include cancer warning labels. He stated that alcohol is a “well-established, preventable cause of cancer,” responsible for approximately 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the U.S., while emphasizing that most Americans remain unaware of this risk.
The survey highlights a broader cultural shift, with declining alcohol consumption and rising awareness of its health consequences pointing to a new era of caution in American drinking habits.
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