Americans Tell Us Why They’re Drinking Less

Americans are drinking alcohol less. For some, it’s never wanting to experience another hangover. For others, it’s a necessary sacrifice for their overall well-being. Whatever the reason, young Americans, age 18–34, are focused on improving their health, according to a 2024 Gallup poll.

This coincides with a January 2025 advisory from the Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, warning of a “casual link” between increased risk of seven types of cancer (including breast [in women], colorectum, esophagus, voice box, liver, mouth, and throat) and drinking, highlighting alcohol use as a “leading preventable cause of cancer…contributing to nearly 100,000 cancer cases and about 20,000 cancer deaths each year.”

This report is just the latest in decades of warnings that alcohol is harmful to people's health. But that may not the sole—or even primary—cause of the substance's downshift in popularity. Gallup reports that of the recent studies published concerning alcohol use and long-term health effects, “just 19% of US adults say they have heard ‘a great deal’ about such studies.” Thirty percent responded having heard “a fair amount,” while another 30% say they have “not heard much” and 21%, “nothing at all.”

Bon Appétit spoke to people across the country to hear their thoughts. For many, their choice to imbibe, abstain, drink less, or enjoy booze-free alternatives is deeply personal.

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Natalie Pedraza, 24 (Monroe, LA)

I never drank before I went to college, and I was a bigger drinker then than I am now.

It was like every other night, but since graduating, that’s died down a lot. Since moving to Northeast Louisiana, all there is to do here is drink. It’s a small, southern town—that’s what people do. I go to Wine Wednesdays, which wasn’t something I did when I first moved here, but it’s part of the culture. We’ll go out once, maybe twice a week drinking. A new restaurant, Apero, opened recently with a zero-proof gin and a mocktail list, but it’s not a regular thing here. If you’re not drinking alcohol here, you’re drinking Coke or Dr Pepper or something.

The wealth disparity in Monroe is very large. For a lot of people, they’d rather spend $5 for a beer than $11 or $13 for something maybe better for you. It would be harder to find nonalcoholic alternatives here, to keep up with a [sober curious] lifestyle. I would have to go out of my way to do it. For me personally, the alternative is CBD or THC, but here there’s still a lot of stigma in the South around those. Alcohol is more socially acceptable.

I do feel like everything nowadays causes cancer. [The Surgeon General’s announcement] does make me rethink a lot of things. I’m thinking back to college and wondering how much I increased my risk, that does make me worried a little bit. But I also feel like, on social media for me, there are a lot of people that are health conscious on TikTok that make this information make sense a little bit more—especially with women. We’re targeted a little bit more. A lot of wellness is being thrown at you, partying is not trending as much.

Alyssa Lucchesi, 34 (Madison, WI)

Ever since being a very heavy drinker in college, I’ve lost interest. I’d enjoy a fancy, nice cocktail every once in a while but I never feel like having a glass of wine at the end of the day. I’ve been thinking about a sober lifestyle.