"One minor but arresting fact of U.S. history is the huge amount of alcohol the average American consumed in 1830: 7.1 undiluted gallons a year, the equivalent of four shots of 80-proof whiskey every day. Assuming some children wimped out after the first drink, this statistic suggests that large numbers of Jacksonian-era adults were rolling eight belts deep seven days a week, with all the attendant implications for social and political life."
"Compared with our forebears, Americans barely drink now: a mere 2.5 gallons per capita in 2022. The more striking change, though, is that in a Gallup poll released in August, only 54 percent of respondents said they drank at all-the lowest portion since the analytics company started asking the question in 1939. Although doctors surely approve, this downturn is bad news for those of us who use alcohol for its intended purpose-improving the company of others-"
Per-capita alcohol consumption in the United States fell from 7.1 undiluted gallons per person in 1830 to 2.5 gallons in 2022. High early-19th-century drinking implied widespread daily intoxication among adults with significant effects on social and political interactions. National vices such as heavy drinking can shape collective experience as much as national virtues. Recent survey data show a sharp reduction in drinking prevalence, with only 54 percent reporting any alcohol use—the lowest since 1939. Medical professionals generally approve of reduced alcohol use, but the decline accompanies decreased social activity and may affect communal rituals and entertainment.
Read at The Atlantic
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