U.S. Alcohol Use Declines for the First Time Since the Pandemic, Study Finds

Alcohol use in the United States has started to decline after climbing in the years that followed the start of the pandemic, according to a new study published in Annals of Internal Medicine. The drop was modest and was led mainly by younger adults, but the researchers also found a more troubling pattern: heavy drinking continued to rise among people ages 50 to 64.

The findings point to a split in how Americans are drinking. Overall use moved down between 2022 and 2024, marking what appears to be the first national pullback since pandemic-era drinking patterns took hold. At the same time, the study found that older adults have been drinking more since 2018, and that the increase in intensive alcohol use among middle-aged Americans has not reversed.

That means the headline number does not tell the full story. A lower national average can suggest improvement, especially after years of concern about drinking habits during and after the pandemic. But the age breakdown shows that the decline is not shared evenly across the population, and that some groups remain at elevated risk.

Researchers said younger adults accounted for much of the recent change. That result fits with a broader shift that health officials, marketers and consumer researchers have been watching closely, as younger Americans in many cases report drinking less often or seeking alternatives to traditional alcoholic beverages. The new study adds medical evidence to that trend, even if the overall decline at the national level was small.

The pattern among adults ages 50 to 64 points in the other direction. In that group, heavy drinking continued to rise, even as the broader numbers eased. That is significant because heavier alcohol use is tied to a higher risk of liver disease, heart problems, certain cancers, injuries and mental health complications. For doctors and public health officials, the data suggest that prevention and treatment efforts may need to be targeted more carefully by age rather than based on one national trend.

The study’s findings also matter outside medicine. For the beverage industry, a sustained decline in drinking among younger consumers could reshape long-term demand for beer, wine and spirits, while continued heavy use among older adults could complicate those forecasts and keep pressure on companies as health concerns and regulatory debates continue. The split may also influence how producers and retailers think about product mix, marketing and growth expectations in the United States.

The report arrives at a time when alcohol has become a larger part of public health discussions in the U.S. In recent years, researchers and policymakers have paid closer attention to the effects of regular and heavy drinking, especially after the social disruptions of the pandemic. The new data do not show a simple national recovery from that period. Instead, they suggest a more uneven transition, with some Americans cutting back while others continue moving in the opposite direction.

Because the decline from 2022 to 2024 was modest, the study is unlikely to settle the question of whether the country has entered a lasting period of lower alcohol use. Small shifts can change again as economic conditions, social habits and health messaging evolve. What the study does show is that the broad national trend now includes two very different movements at once: less drinking among younger adults and more dangerous patterns among many people closer to retirement age.

That divide is likely to draw attention from physicians, health agencies and state officials who track alcohol-related harm. It may also feed further debate over warning labels, prevention campaigns and how to address alcohol misuse in age groups that are often overlooked in public messaging, which has historically focused more heavily on teenagers and young adults.