A growing share of U.S. adults now recognise that already low-dose alcohol use is unhealthy. By 2025, 53% said moderate alcohol consumption is harmful – nearly double the share in 2015. Younger generations are leading this change, with two-thirds of young adults rejecting the idea that one or two alcoholic drinks a day were safe.
Alcohol use itself is also falling: only 54% of U.S. Americans reported using alcohol in 2025, the lowest rate in three decades. With the World Health Organization confirming no safe level of alcohol and U.S. guidelines under review, these shifts signal rising support for health promoting policies.

Shifting Perceptions on Alcohol and Health

A growing share of U.S. adults now recognise that even low-dose alcohol use is harmful to health. According to Gallup’s July 2023 Consumption Habits Survey, a record-high 39% of U.S. Americans said that consuming one to two alcoholic beverages per day is bad for health, up 11 percentage points since 2018.

By 2025, this perception grew even further. A new Gallup poll published recently by the Associated Press (AP) revealed that 53% of U.S. Americans view moderate alcohol use as unhealthy, compared to just 28% in 2015.

This marks a significant cultural and scientific shift in how alcohol is understood in U.S. society.

39%
Growing Concern About Daily Alcohol Use
In 2023, a record-high 39% of Americans said that consuming one to two alcoholic beverages per day is bad for health, up 11 percentage points since 2018.
53%
Shift in Perceptions of Low-Dose Alcohol Use
In 2025, 53% of Americans view moderate alcohol use as unhealthy, compared to just 28% in 2015.

Younger Generations Lead the Change

The shift is driven most strongly by younger adults. In 2023, Gallup reported that concern over low-dose alcohol use increased by 18 percentage points among people aged 18–34 since 2018, compared to a 13-point rise among middle-aged adults and virtually no change among people 55 and older. 

The AP reported in 2025 that about two-thirds of young adults now consider even one or two daily alcoholic beverages to be harmful, up from about four in ten in 2015.

This aligns with lifestyle changes, including the growing popularity of non-alcoholic alternatives such as “mocktails.”

Two-thirds
Most Young Adults See Daily Alcohol as Harmful
By 2025, about two-thirds of young adults considered even one or two daily alcoholic beverages harmful, up from about four in ten in 2015.

Broader Demographic and Regional Patterns

Other groups are also shifting their views.

  • Gallup data from 2023 showed that women (41%) were more likely than men (35%) to view low-dose alcohol use as harmful. 
  • Regional differences were also notable, with higher concern in the Western and Midwestern U.S. (44%) compared to the East (34%) and South (35%). 
  • Religious affiliation plays a role as well: nearly half (47%) of non-religious Americans see moderate alcohol use as harmful, compared with 35% of Christians. 
  • By 2025, the AP noted that older U.S. Americans were also adopting more skeptical views.
    • About half of people aged 55 and older now believe that moderate alcohol use is harmful, up from only two in ten in 2015.
50%
Older Adults Increasingly See Alcohol as Harmful
About half of people aged 55 and older now believe that moderate alcohol use is harmful, up from only two in ten in 2015.

Declining Alcohol Consumption

As perceptions change, reported alcohol use is falling.

  • In 2025, Gallup found that only 54% of U.S. Americans reported using alcohol, the lowest rate in three decades and among the lowest since data collection began in 1939. 
  • Declines are most visible among younger adults and women. For example, Gallup reported that young adults – who two decades ago were most likely to use alcohol – now report lower use rates than middle-aged or older adults. 
  • Even among those who still use alcohol, frequency has declined. About one-quarter said they had consumed alcohol in the past 24 hours, a record low, while 4 in 10 reported it had been more than a week since their last use.

Scientific Consensus and Policy Context

These findings come at a time when global health authorities emphasise that no amount of alcohol is safe. In fact, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed that alcohol is a toxic substance that increases risks for liver disease, cardiovascular harm, and at least seven types of cancer. 

A 2025 Movendi International Science Digest further explained that ethanol is a cell poison, causing inflammation, nerve damage, and cancer, emphasising the WHO position that no safe level exists. 

The AP highlighted that U.S. health officials are revising dietary guidelines and that former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recommended warning labels on alcohol products to inform people of the alcohol–cancer link.

World Health Organization: No Level of Alcohol Use Is Safe for our Health
New Research Results Show How Alcohol Use Really Affects Overall Health and Fitness

Growing Public Health Opportunity

The evidence shows that more U.S. Americans are questioning the harmful alcohol norm and turning away from alcohol altogether.

This represents a major opportunity for alcohol policy and health promotion. The continued decline in alcohol consumption among young people, combined with broad recognition that already low-dose use is unhealthy, can increase support for world-class alcohol policy solutions. With U.S. guidelines under review and WHO reaffirming that alcohol has no health benefits, communities have a chance to ensure better protection of people’s health and promote freedom from harm caused by alcohol.

Sources

Gallup News: “Americans Now View Moderate Drinking as Unhealthy

PBS NewsHour: “Why many Americans are rethinking alcohol, according to a new Gallup poll”