At first blush, the latest federal figures on alcohol use are bad for the industry. Among those 12 years old or older, 50.7% of the population drank in 2016, down from 51% of the population in 2002.
But there’s good news in the details. That decline is concentrated in underage drinkers. Among those 12-17 years old, past month alcohol use last year was 9.2%, nearly half the 17.6% recorded in 2002. Among those 18-25, past month use fell to 57.1% from 60.5% in 2002.
Underage drinkers are nothing but trouble for the bev/al industry, leading to calls for increased taxes, restricted hours and locations.
Among adults over 26 and over, past month alcohol use actually inched up, to 54.6% from 53.9%.
The figures come from the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health. NSDUH is produced annually by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration. It’s considered the largest and most reliable survey of alcohol and drug use.
The feds changed the definition of binge drinking, so the survey doesn’t have comparable data on that. Across all age groups, 24.2% binged – if males, they had 5 or more drinks on one occasion; if females, 4 or more drinks on one occasion.
That’s largely concentrated among those 18-25, who are still learning how to handle alcohol responsibly. Of that group, 38.4% told interviewers they had binge drank in the previous 30 days. Among those 26 or older, 24.2% did so.
There was good news in the binging statistics, too: just 4.9% of those 12-17 binged.
Heavy alcohol use – five or more binge days in the previous 30 days – occurred among 6% of the population. Among those 12-17, just 0.8% were heavy drinkers. That number rose to 10.1% among those 18-25, and among those 26 or older, just 6% were heavy drinkers.
You’ll read elsewhere about selected drug abuse statistics. I was, I believe, the only reporter at the briefing, and I was left with a profound sense of despair as I listened to officials roll out those drug numbers. We’ll report those in coming days.
Spirits Council: Promoting Moderate Drink Effective
Kraig R. Naasz, president/ceo, Distilled Spirits Council, responded to the NSDUH report by noting “the distilled spirits sector is committed to promoting moderate and responsible drinking by adults, and this new government report shows such efforts are having a positive effect.”
Naasz noted that the spirits sector has been a part of this progress through its individual company education efforts and collective efforts, such as the Council’s, DrinkinModeration.org.