Americans’ appetite for alcohol has fallen to its lowest level in the Gallup poll’s 86-year history. Just 54 % of adults said they drank beer, wine or spirits in the past year, slipping below the previous trough of 55 % set in 1958 and down sharply from 58 % in 2024 and 62 % in 2023, the analytics firm’s annual Consumption Habits survey shows. The pull-back is broad-based but steepest among groups that historically drank more. Reported drinking among women dropped 11 percentage points in two years to 51 %, while the share of self-identified Republicans who drink tumbled 19 points to 46 %. Young adults aged 18-34 now trail their elders, with only half saying they imbibe. Overall, drinkers are also cutting back: average weekly intake slid to 2.8 drinks, the lowest since 1996; a record-low 24 % had consumed alcohol in the previous day and 40 % said it had been more than a week. Attitudes toward alcohol appear to be shifting just as quickly. For the first time, a majority of Americans—53 %—say having one or two drinks a day is bad for their health, up from 45 % last year and 28 % a decade ago. Two-thirds of adults under 35 hold that view. Gallup’s researchers found little evidence that people are swapping drinks for legalized marijuana, suggesting health worries rather than substitution are driving the retreat. The findings add to mounting challenges for brewers and spirits makers already grappling with post-pandemic demand normalization and tighter household budgets. Public-health officials have intensified warnings that even modest alcohol use can raise the risk of at least seven cancers, reinforcing the message that, for many Americans, no amount of drinking feels safe.