A recent study conducted by Keck Medicine of USC discovered that overall alcohol use in adults in the United States has decreased for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From 2022 to 2024, there was a 5% decrease in any alcohol consumption by Generation Z, the largest decline noted from the sample. Additionally, there was a 17% drop in heavy drinking from millennials.

This study was conducted by looking at National Health Interview Survey data asking 114,352 adults from the U.S. between 2018 to 2024 about their alcohol consumption. It also examined if they met the threshold for heavy drinking set by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Alcohol use patterns varied across the different groups recorded in the data, with adults ages 50-64 seeing heavy drinking increase by more than 36% while others have decreased, meaning preventative efforts should be designed specifically for those populations. In an interview with the Daily Trojan, Dr. Brian P. Lee, the principal investigator and spokesperson of the study, emphasized the crucial nature of messaging.

“What’s important is that we continue with messaging in terms of advising people about what alcohol really does to the body,” Lee said. “And … what thresholds of heavy drinking can be particularly concerning from a health standpoint.”

The NIAAA defines heavy drinking for men as the consumption of five or more drinks in a single day or 15 or more drinks per week within the 12 months prior to the survey. For women, heavy drinking is defined as four or more drinks in a single day or eight or more per week within that 12 month-period.

“Many of my patients … are kind of shocked when they hear what the threshold is,” Lee said. “A woman who’s having wine everyday with dinner, most would be considered heavy drinkers, so I think that’s very surprising to people, and is important to inform.”

Lee also said that there’s a social attitude that needs to be changed to reduce general excessive alcohol consumption even more.

“Drinking … has become normalized in society,” Lee said. “From a cultural standpoint, really removing heavy drinking from a social norm is important.”

Some students said they were not surprised by the drop in alcohol usage for Gen Z and in heavy drinking for millennials reported in the study. Victoria Singh, a senior majoring in computer engineering and computer science, said she’s generally seen a rise in healthy lifestyle initiatives.

“There’s different avenues for people to have fun and experience the same [euphoric] sense of dopamine hits that you would get with alcohol,” Singh said. “People are just really prioritizing their health now.”

Aside from wellness, Stella Rand, a freshman majoring in accounting, said there is a possible link between the concerns about drink spiking or lacing and the overall decrease of alcohol consumption for young adults.

“A lot of people, like my friends, are a lot more cautious about drinking and smoking,” she said. “You’re not 100% positive of what’s in [alcohol or marijuana]. … Taking an open drink at a party or [if] somebody hands you a joint, you’re kind of scared.”

Although there was a reduction in the usage of alcohol for younger adults, alcohol use among adults ages 50 to 64 did not see the same downward trend. Alongside the rise in heavy drinking, general alcohol use in this age group went up, increasing by almost 4% from 2018 to 2024. To work toward solving the discrepancy in ages, Lee said there needs to be more awareness about this study.

“Getting the message out there that heavy drinking is up in this group, getting the message out there that this group is at particularly high risk to develop liver disease and other alcohol-related health conditions: Those are important messages to get out into the public,” Lee said.
Lee said that facing the risks that come with drinking alcohol and collaboration with one’s doctor is crucial, especially when facing withdrawal.

“The encouragement to talk to your doctor openly about drinking is a key message here,” he said. “Doctors … will have a key role in changing alcohol patterns from a public health standpoint.”

Though this specific study did not examine the reasons behind these trends, Lee said he was interested in understanding why these trends exist and which treatment strategies would be effective.