GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Over a third of Americans report that drinking has been a cause of trouble in their family, the highest percentage in response to this question in the more than 50 years it has been asked. About two-thirds of Americans are drinkers, and of these, about one-fourth say they sometimes drink more than they should. Fifteen percent of drinkers report having made a serious effort to stop drinking.
Almost Two-Thirds of Americans Are at Least Occasional
Drinkers
The percentage of the American population drinking alcoholic
beverages has fluctuated greatly over the past 60 years, ranging
between 55% and 71%. The lowest percentage of Americans who
reported that they drink came in the 1950s, while the highest
percentage was registered in Gallup polls conducted in the
mid-1970s. In Gallup's most recent survey on this issue, conducted
September 23-26, 64% of the adult population said they had taken an
opportunity to drink, remarkably similar to the 58% who reported
drinking in 1939, when Gallup first asked Americans about their
drinking habits.
Those most likely to drink include men, those with higher incomes, Americans under age 65, those who don't attend church regularly, those living in regions of the country other than the South, and self-identified liberals.
Most Americans who drink report alcohol consumption habits that could be viewed as light to moderate. About four out of ten drinkers said that the last drink they had was more than a week before the time at which they were interviewed. Among those who did drink in the past week, the number of drinks they reported consuming (six) averages less than one per day. At the same time, a significant minority of American drinkers report behaviors that might suggest a problem: 24% say they sometimes drink more alcohol than they think they should, and 15% say they have at some time made a serious effort to stop drinking (and apparently failed).
Age, Gender and Socioeconomic Differences in Preferred
Drink
Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage, favored by 42% of
drinkers, followed by wine and hard liquor, favored by 34% and 19%,
respectively.
There are big differences in favorite alcoholic beverage by demographic variables:
- Men strongly prefer beer (60% of men say beer is their favorite drink), while women's favorite choice is wine
- Beer drinking drops significantly with age. Beer is the favorite choice of 52% of 18-to-29-year-old drinkers, but drops to only 21% among those 65 and older
- Wine as favorite beverage increases with age; it is the favorite choice for 57% of those 65 and over
- Wine is the favorite beverage of those making more than $75,000 a year, while beer is the favorite of lower-income drinkers
Thirty-six Percent Say Drinking Has Caused Family
Problems
An increasing number of Americans are telling Gallup that drinking
has been a problem in their family, particularly in recent years.
In 1947, when Gallup first asked the question, only 15% of
Americans said that drinking had been a problem in their family.
That number climbed into the 20% range during the 1970s, and
remained at a quarter of the public into the 1990s. As recently as
1994, the rate of self-reported problems was just 27%. However,
this rose to 30% in 1997 and reached 36% -- the all time-high
number -- in this most recent survey.
There could be several explanations for this increase in self-reported family drinking problems, including a real-world increase in alcoholism, increased willingness to admit such problems, and a possibly broadened understanding of what "drinking problems" means. It is not possible to say which single or combined explanation is true in relation to this survey, but data trends since 1996 offer a few clues that point in the direction of perception, rather than reality:
- There has been no significant change in the percentage of drinkers reporting that they sometimes drink more than they should.
- The rate of self-reported family drinking problems has increased most dramatically among 18-to-29-year-olds, from 17% in 1996 to 42% today. Among older Americans, whose views of what constitutes "alcoholism" may be more set, the increase in reported drinking problems is just nine percentage points.
Survey Methods
The results below are based on telephone interviews with a randomly
selected national sample of 1,039 adults, 18 years and older,
conducted September 23-26, 1999. For results based on samples of
this size, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the error
attributable to sampling and other random effects could be plus or
minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question
wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can
introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion
polls.
Do you have occasion to use alcoholic beverages such as liquor, wine or beer, or are you a total abstainer?
| Yes, drink | No, total abstainer | |
|---|---|---|
| % | % | |
| 1999 Sep 23-26 | 64 | 36 |
| 1997 Jun 26-29 | 61 | 39 |
| 1996 Jun 27-30 | 58 | 42 |
| 1994 Jun 3-6 | 65 | 35 |
| 1992 | 64 | 35 |
| 1990 | 57 | 43 |
| 1989 | 56 | 44 |
| 1988 | 63 | 37 |
| 1987 | 65 | 35 |
| 1984 | 64 | 36 |
| 1983 | 65 | 35 |
| 1982 | 65 | 35 |
| 1981 | 70 | 30 |
| 1979 | 69 | 31 |
| 1978 | 71 | 29 |
| 1977 | 71 | 29 |
| 1976 | 71 | 29 |
| 1974 | 68 | 32 |
| 1969 | 64 | 36 |
| 1966 | 65 | 35 |
| 1964 | 63 | 37 |
| 1960 | 62 | 38 |
| 1958 | 55 | 45 |
| 1957 | 58 | 42 |
| 1956 | 60 | 40 |
| 1952 | 60 | 40 |
| 1951 | 59 | 41 |
| 1950 | 60 | 40 |
| 1949 | 58 | 42 |
| 1947 | 63 | 37 |
| 1946 | 67 | 33 |
| 1945 | 67 | 33 |
| 1939 | 58 | 42 |
When did you last take a drink of any kind of alcoholic beverage?
BASED ON THOSE WHO DRINK; N = 684; ± 4 PCT PTS
| 24 hours | Over 1 day to 1 week ago | Over 1 week ago | Don't know | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | |
| 1999 Sep 23-26 | 35 | 25 | 39 | 1 |
| 1997 Jun 26-29 | 33 | 25 | 42 | * |
| 1996 Jun 27-30 | 28 | 26 | 45 | 1 |
| 1994 Jun 3-6 | 34 | 23 | 42 | 1 |
| 1992 | 26 | 35 | 48 | 1 |
| 1990 | 29 | 23 | 47 | 1 |
| 1989 | 32 | 35 | 32 | 1 |
| 1988 | 39 | 25 | 34 | 2 |
| 1987 | 38 | 30 | 31 | 1 |
| 1984 | 39 | 29 | 31 | 1 |
(if respondent had alcoholic beverage within the last week): Approximately how many drinks of any kind of alcoholic beverages did you drink in the past SEVEN days?
| 0 | 1-7 | 8-19 | 20+ | Don't know | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | |
| 1999 Sep 23-26 | 40 | 47 | 8 | 4 | * |
| 1997 Jun 26-29 | 41 | 45 | 8 | 5 | 1 |
| 1996 Jun 27-30 | 47 | 42 | 7 | 2 | 2 |
| 1994 Jun 3-6 | 44 | 42 | 10 | 3 | 1 |
| 1992 | 51 | 36 | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| 1990 | 50 | 40 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| 1989 | 33 | 47 | 13 | 5 | 2 |
| 1988 | 32 | 49 | 10 | 6 | 3 |
| 1987 | 29 | 50 | 11 | 6 | 4 |
Do you most often drink liquor, wine, or beer?
[BASED ON THOSE WHO DRINK; N = 684; ± 4 PCT PTS]
| Liquor | Wine | Beer | All same (vol.) | Other (vol.) | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Sep 23-26 | 19% | 34 | 42 | 4 | * | 1 |
| 1997 Jun 26-29 | 18% | 32 | 45 | 4 | * | 1 |
| 1996 Jul 25-28 | 20% | 27 | 46 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 1994 Jun 3-6 | 18% | 29 | 41 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 1992 Jan | 21% | 27 | 47 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
Do you sometimes drink more alcoholic beverages than you
think you should?
[BASED ON THOSE WHO DRINK; N = 684; ± 4 PCT PTS]
| Yes | No | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | |
| 1999 Sep 23-26 | 24 | 76 | * |
| 1997 Jun 26-29 | 22 | 78 | * |
| 1996 Jul 25-28 | 25 | 75 | * |
| 1994 Jun 3-6 | 29 | 71 | -- |
| 1992 | 29 | 71 | -- |
| 1990 | 23 | 76 | 1 |
| 1989 | 35 | 65 | -- |
| 1987 | 29 | 71 | -- |
| 1985 | 32 | 68 | -- |
| 1978 | 23 | 77 | -- |
Have you ever made a really serious effort to stop drinking,
or not?
[BASED ON THOSE WHO DRINK; N = 684; ± 4 PCT PTS]
| Yes, made effort | 15% |
| No, have not | 80 |
| Don't want to quit (vol.) | 4 |
| No opinion | 1 |
| 100% |
Has drinking ever been a cause of trouble in your family?
| Yes | No | No answer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | |
| 1999 Sep 23-26 | 36 | 64 | * |
| 1997 Jun 26-29 | 30 | 70 | * |
| 1996 Jun 27-30 | 23 | 77 | * |
| 1994 Jun 3-6 | 27 | 72 | 1 |
| 1992 | 24 | 76 | -- |
| 1990 | 23 | 76 | 1 |
| 1989 | 19 | 81 | -- |
| 1987 | 24 | 76 | -- |
| 1985 | 21 | 79 | -- |
| 1984 | 18 | 82 | -- |
| 1981 | 22 | 78 | -- |
| 1978 | 22 | 78 | -- |
| 1976 | 17 | 83 | -- |
| 1974 | 12 | 88 | -- |
| 1966 | 12 | 88 | -- |
| 1947 | 15 | 85 | -- |
All things considered, which of the following products do you think creates the most problems for society -- [ROTATE: Cigarettes, or Alcohol]?
| Cigarettes | 12% |
| Alcohol | 77 |
| BOTH EQUALLY (vol.) | 9 |
| No opinion | 2 |
| 100% |
(vol.) volunteered response
* less than 0.5%
