Posted on 05/20/2026 6:58:04 PM PDT by DoodleBob
Younger consumers’ drinking habits have been the focus of much attention over the past few years. Statistics have painted a broad picture of an alcohol industry in crisis, driven in part by a declining interest in liquor among the Gen Z cohort. Though the numbers don’t always add up (do they ever?), the prevailing hypothesis is that the 18 to 34 crowd is trading alcohol for cannabis, screen time and a bevvy of wellness-oriented goals.
On a recent episode of “Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard,” economist Alvin E. Roth chimed in with some insight. A Nobel Prize-winner, Stanford professor and author of “Moral Economics,” Roth chatted with the hosts about alcohol’s perceived role as a social drug — a possible disadvantage in an era when younger people are staying in more than ever. Hosts Shepard and Monica Padman mused about other potential causes, before Roth interjected that there “might be multiple explanations.”
“There’s no question that a lot of things are affected by social norms. But social norms aren’t things that we know very much about how to change. You can’t legislate them; they seem to change slowly,” Roth said.
“One thing that’s driving it down is that there used to be some thought that alcohol had protective properties, you know, that drinking red wine was good for you,” he continued.
Health benefits, and the lack thereof, have certainly played a role in the larger alcohol discourse. A 2025 report from the U.S. Surgeon General suggested that alcohol consumption was linked to at least seven types of cancer, placing alcohol as the third-leading preventable cause of cancer in the country behind tobacco and obesity. Though the findings have yet to be included in official guidelines, they reflect a growing consensus in the scientific community. Later that year, the World Health Organization encouraged countries to hike the tax on alcohol by 50% over the next decade, reiterating its claim that “no level of alcohol consumption is safe” for human health.
In addition to health concerns, Roth believes that a generational divide may be at play.
“But I think there are these cycles that are generational, too. In other words, if your grandparents drank cocktails, then your parents drank wine, and now you’re smoking weed,” Roth added.
That cannabis and THC products are being legalized across the country at the same time that alcohol sales are slumping is likely no coincidence. Approximately 69% of adults ages 18 to 24 said they prefer cannabis to alcohol in a 2022 study conducted by New Frontier Data. Recent data suggests that Gen Z accounted for just 4% of U.S. alcohol sales in 2025, compared to 25% for Millennials and 70% for Gen X and baby boomers.
Statistics have painted a broad picture of an alcohol industry in crisis
I don’t think lower alcohol sales constitutes a crisis.
New Year’s resolution:
I’m not going to drink any more alcohol this year.
I’m not going to drink any less, either.
Las Vegas stage act.
Dean Martin: You know, Frank, I only drink to forget.
Frank Sinatra: That’s too bad, Dean. What are you trying to forget?
Dean: I don’t know. I forgot a long time ago.
RE: red wine health properties....
Resveratrol supplements have the elements found in red wine.
Mayo Clinic: “It may help protect blood vessel linings, prevent blood clots, and reduce inflammation.”
I’m a lifelong non drinker and I take those capsules.
“...declining interest in liquor among the Gen Z cohort..”
No wonder they are beyond useless.
alcohol is poison ...
Sexless, stoner, shut-ins who never jump off the railroad bridge or drive 120mph, or hunt chicks on Saturday night.
Then why is booze still expensive? You’d think there’d be some easing of prices with demand so low.
The standout story is Gen Z. The youngest Gen Zers (born 2012) were only 13 in 2025, meaning a large share of the generation couldn't legally purchase alcohol. Of the ~71 million Gen Zers, only those born 1997–2004 had turned 21 — roughly 37 million, or about 52% of the cohort. Yet even that eligible group is dramatically underrepresented: 37M is about 15% of the total drinking-age population, but they account for only 4% of alcohol sales.
That gap — 15% of eligible drinkers, 4% of sales — reflects a genuine behavioral shift, not just age demographics. A 2024 Gallup study found that 64% of legal-drinking-age Gen Zers had not consumed alcohol in the prior six months.
All other generations are fully of drinking age:
Millennials (~74M, 100% eligible): 25% of sales, roughly in line with their ~30% share of drinkers.
Gen X (~65M) and Baby Boomers (~64M): together 70% of sales from ~53% of eligible drinkers — a disproportionately large share driven by higher consumption rates and established habits
| Generation | Birth years | Total pop. | Drinking-age pop. | % of cohort eligible | Alcohol sales share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gen Z | 1997–2012 | ~71M | ~37M | ~52% | 4% |
| Millennials | 1981–1996 | ~74M | ~74M | 100% | 25% |
| Gen X | 1965–1980 | ~65M | ~65M | 100% | ~28% |
| Baby Boomers | 1946–1964 | ~64M | ~64M | 100% | ~42% |
I remember the cocktail parties Mom & Dad threw at our house in the 1950s and 1960s. Mom, dad and friends had rip-roaring times, everybody all dressed up and pouring the booze down like water. I think it was a hangover from the privations of the Depression and WW II (that's an eleven for you Somalians).
GenX and Boomers have money and a craving.
,,, made me think of the t-shirt that said "tell me no before I waste sixty bucks on drinks."
Someone has to think of the women.
Booze isn't expensive. You can get a handle of bottom shelf vodka for about $12. A couple 2-liter bottles of Mountain Dew and you're good for a party of a half dozen people.
Gen-Z isn't drinking alcohol because they're risk-averse and every activity they partake in is recorded and uploaded to social media where it might remain for all eternity.
Getting drunk as a youngster and making an ass out of yourself wasn't so big a deal when the worst consequence were your buddies making fun of you the next day. Now it goes on Instagram where the whole world can watch it over and over again (including potential employers).
So is most of the food we eat if bought in grocery stores.
So the overlords are penalizing alcohol, while ignoring skunk-ass marijuana.
No agenda there at all folks, nope. Nothing like rotting your brains, and filling your lungs full of carcinogens. That’s just fine to the benevolent overlords that want you dumb, lazy, and easy to control.
In my generation, folks learned to drink responsibly in college. When the age was raised from 18 to 21, that was lost, and the next generation grew up on binge drinking. Gen Z saw the results of that, and mellowed out on pot.
According to public health experts and scientific consensus, alcohol is overall the most damaging drug in society. While illicit substances like heroin or fentanyl are more acutely toxic, alcohol’s widespread legality, easy accessibility, and cultural normalization make it the highest contributor to overall societal harm.
Yes. You’d think basement-dwelling incels would be heavy drinkers, unless it adversely affects their game play.
This.
The first time we saw some sniveling twit walking through a party with a digital camera (pre-mobile phone camera days), we knew it was over. They threw him out but that was the last big party. The trust was gone because we all knew that twit was only doing it for spite and manipulation, and there were more resentful losers out there who we could not trust.
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