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White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group, Kansas City, MO, USA

Drinking alcohol is down among regular drinkers

We previously reported (www.whitehutchinson.com/ news/ lenews/ 2026/ september/ article104.shtml) that alcohol consumption is on the decline, down from 65% of adults ten years ago, with only a little over half of adults (54%) currently drinking. Younger adults show the greatest decline, with a 15 percentage-point drop for ages 18-34 to 50% and a 13 percentage-point drop for ages 35-54 to 58%.

We analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey (www.cdc.gov/ nchs/ nhis/ index.html) and found that younger adults who still drink are drinking less. Among Gen Z and Millennial regular drinkers who drink 12 or more alcoholic drinks a year, the number of days they drink per year declined between 2016 and 2025. For Gen Z, the number of drinks per week also declined.

Many regular drinkers are becoming teetotalers on many occasions when they go out, or they can zebra-strip (www.whitehutchinson.com/ news/ lenews/ 2026/ march/ article102.shtml) between alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks. 

This is all the more reason for location-based entertainment venues to offer a robust selection of nonalcoholic drinks, including premium mocktails and spritzers.

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