A new poll has revealed that a record-high percentage of Americans believe that drinking in moderation is bad for one’s health. Released by Gallup on Thursday, the poll showed that 39 percent of respondents think that consuming one or two drinks a day is detrimental to health, which marks an increase of 11 points since the last survey in 2018.
This sharp rise breaks away from the stagnant levels observed in previous surveys. In 2001, 27 percent of respondents believed that moderate drinking was bad for their health. Although this figure decreased to 22 percent in 2005, it has remained at approximately 25-28 percent in subsequent years.
The number of Americans who believe that moderate drinking is beneficial for one’s health has also decreased. In 2023, only 10 percent of respondents held this view, compared to 16 percent in 2018. Additionally, half of the participants in the new poll stated that moderate drinking has no impact on health, a decrease of 5 points from 55 percent in 2018.
This increase in negative perception is largely driven by young adults aged 18-34, with 52 percent of them believing that moderate drinking is bad, marking an 18-point increase from the 34 percent who held a similar view in 2018.
Among middle-aged adults aged 35-54, 39 percent think moderate drinking is bad, which is a 13-point increase from the 26 percent in 2018. In older adults, there has been virtually no change, with 29 percent stating it is bad in 2023 compared to 26 percent in 2018, according to Gallup.
Furthermore, the survey revealed that most Americans perceive alcohol to be less harmful than tobacco but more harmful than marijuana. The survey found that 76 percent believe cigarettes are “very harmful,” 54 percent say the same about e-cigarettes or vaping, 39 percent think chewing tobacco is “very harmful,” 30 percent believe alcohol is “very harmful,” and 23 percent consider marijuana to be “very harmful.”
The telephone interview survey included 1,015 adults living in the U.S. and was conducted from July 3-27. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
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