And often less harmfull than alcohol

Plus with declining birthrates in developed countries there are probably fewer overall Gen Z people than older cohorts. So even if they drank at the same rate you could still expect the absolute amount of alcohol consumption to be lower.

By that logic it should be around 10B by now

I've seen the opposite, and when I got my physical my doctor definitely supported that everyone has been drinking a lot more than previous. I'd say my use ticked down during lockdown but up afterwards 🤷‍♂️

GenXer here. I started drinking due to social pressure almost 30 years ago. I basically completely stopped already before covid. My wife is the same. On occasion one or two drinks when going out, but we don't have anything at home. My cousin (similar age) and her husband went completely dry.

I think it's more of an awareness of the health risks (also huge "don't drink and drive" campaigns when I was reaching drinking age), add to that if we're honest it doesn't really taste that good, enduring a hangover is nothing to look forward to and also (at least in my case) I am fed up with how our society still looks weird at people that just don't want to drink. Screw everyone who asks two or three times if someone says they want a non-alcoholic beverage or, even worse, makes stupid jokes, mostly to feel better about their own addiction.

Sorry got a bit heated at the end. My son recently reached legal drinking age, does not want to drink and is being pressured by peers to start drinking. Luckily he is mentally strong enough to tell them to go suck a duck.

I stopped drinking when covid hit. Turns out I was a social drinker, and I never got back on the wagon.

Don't worry, I'm bringing the average back up again.

Those are rookie numbers. Gotta push em up

Wait until you see Gen Alpha's spending on alcohol!

Yeah, I know some Gen Z college kids, and I will attest they definitely spend significant money on alcohol. And cigarettes.

I wouldn't be surprised if the vice money is just split between alcohol, cigarettes, weed, vape carts, and adderall. So, just diluted.

There’s part of it but also anecdotally a lot of us are aware that alcohol in pretty much any quality has negative effects and therefore don’t drink at all. There’s a lot less pressure to drink than in expect there was for other generations, it’s pretty normal for me to meet other people who prefer not to drink.

Drug use, and especially problematic drug use, has low price elasticity and the US is a relatively high-income country. The cost of living is almost certainly a negligible factor in the decline of alcohol consumption.

Although most of the gains have gone to top earners, US real median household income has trended slightly upwards over time and is not "way [down]."

Moreover, high-income European countries where even fewer people are budget-constrained when it comes to drug use have also seen dramatic declines in alcohol consumption.

The last gen z are nearly finished with high school. The oldest gen alpha kids are in high school. We're a year into gen beta being born.

At least some of us are, yes. Im generally considered gen Z and ive been legally allowed to drink for years

Of course not. Healthcare in the USA is a nightmare.

Two hands, taped to each. A wild night for sure