Americans are drinking alcohol less. For some, it’s never wanting to experience another hangover. For others, it’s a necessary sacrifice for their overall well-being. Whatever the reason, young Americans, ages 18–34, are focused on improving their health, according to a 2024 Gallup poll.
This coincides with a January 2025 advisory from the surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, warning of a “causal link” between increased risk of seven types of cancer (including breast [in women], colorectal, esophagus, voice box, liver, mouth, and throat) and drinking, highlighting alcohol use as a “leading preventable cause of cancer…contributing to nearly 100,000 cancer cases and about 20,000 cancer deaths each year.”
This report is just the latest in decades of warnings that alcohol is harmful to people’s health. But that may not the sole—or even primary—cause of the substance’s downshift in popularity. Gallup reports that of the recent studies published concerning alcohol use and long-term health effects, “just 19% of US adults say they have heard ‘a great deal’ about such studies.” Thirty percent responded having heard “a fair amount,” while another 30% say they have “not heard much” and 21%, “nothing at all.”
Bon Appétit spoke to people across the country to hear their thoughts. For many, their choice to imbibe, abstain, drink less, or enjoy booze-free alternatives is deeply personal.
I never drank before I went to college, and I was a bigger drinker then than I am now.
It was like every other night, but since graduating, that’s died down a lot. Since moving to Northeast Louisiana, all there is to do here is drink. It’s a small, Southern town—that’s what people do. I go to Wine Wednesdays, which wasn’t something I did when I first moved here, but it’s part of the culture. We’ll go out once, maybe twice a week drinking. A new restaurant, Apero, opened recently with a zero-proof gin and a mocktail list, but it’s not a regular thing here. If you’re not drinking alcohol here, you’re drinking Coke or Dr Pepper or something.
The wealth disparity in Monroe is very large. For a lot of people, they’d rather spend $5 for a beer than $11 or $13 for something maybe better for you. It would be harder to find nonalcoholic alternatives here, to keep up with a [sober curious] lifestyle. I would have to go out of my way to do it. For me personally, the alternative is CBD or THC, but here there’s still a lot of stigma in the South around those. Alcohol is more socially acceptable.
I do feel like everything nowadays causes cancer. [The surgeon general’s announcement] does make me rethink a lot of things. I’m thinking back to college and wondering how much I increased my risk, that does make me worried a little bit. But I also feel like, on social media for me, there are a lot of people that are health conscious on TikTok that make this information make sense a little bit more—especially with women. We’re targeted a little bit more. A lot of wellness is being thrown at you, partying is not trending as much.
Ever since being a very heavy drinker in college, I’ve lost interest. I’d enjoy a fancy, nice cocktail every once in a while but I never feel like having a glass of wine at the end of the day. I’ve been thinking about a sober lifestyle.
I’m a nurse, I’m educated in health care. I thought I had a pretty good understanding of the risks of drinking, but I was shocked to see all of these links to cancer, especially to breast cancer because your boobs are not connected to your digestive tract. Considering all the suspected waterfall effects of alcohol as it’s processed through your body, I was honestly surprised they didn’t mention anything about the mental effects. I asked some of my providers, the doctors at my clinic, ‘What do you think about alcohol, should I be drinking?’ and they said, ‘Well I don’t drink,’ like [any amount of drinking having negative effects] was a casual thing that should’ve been known.
I want to know the right things to explain to [our daughter]. I want to make sure she has the right context and perspective around alcohol.
I was born in the ’50s, raised in the ’60s and ’70s. Both sides of my family have always been pretty healthy. I’ve been smokin’ dope, drinkin’ beer, and wine, and whiskey, and tequila, and vodka, and smokin’ cigarettes my entire life. If somebody comes from the surgeon general and says that a few beers are gonna cause cancer, I’m gonna tell them to kiss my ass.
I drink four or five beers every evening. Maybe a glass of wine on top of that. I still think a glass of wine is heart-healthy. I’m retired and I've been working all my life. If I want to have a few beers in the evening, that’s what I’m gonna do.
I live in the Bible Belt, moved here 45 years ago. There are people I go to church with who do not drink at all, I would say about 70%–80% of them don’t, but I grew up in the Chicago area—Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, Park Ridge—there was a bar on every corner. I think I drank my first beer at 13, maybe 12. I worked offshore in seismic oil exploration, and during the time I was working out there I was gone upward of two months at a time and didn’t drink a drop because it wasn’t allowed. When I got home, I kind of made up for it then.
Obviously, if you drink too damn much, it’s gonna hurt you. It’ll rot your liver, probably screw up your brain, but in my particular case I’m not nearly as worried as much about drinkin’ as I am smokin’. I’ve been smokin’ for 50 years.
My relationship with alcohol was always for enjoyment. Outside of that, I wasn’t somebody who drank for flavor or taste. When the pandemic hit, I just wasn’t drinking. All the information I learned, as far as drinking alcohol lowering your immune response for a short period of time, really got me thinking that maybe this isn’t something I just want to casually do. I’ve found myself finding other ways to enjoy myself and alcohol is just not one of them. More recently, people are more open to nonalcoholic options being part of events. There haven’t really been any drinks for people who don’t drink alcohol. There’s an uptick in things like CBD alternatives, and it’s been cool to see.
The irony is you tell somebody you don’t drink and they’re like, Oh I’m sorry, what happened? What’s wrong? It doesn’t always take an event for someone to either live a sober lifestyle or minimally consume alcohol. I just don’t drink. You’re seeing a lot of people go sober without having a history of alcohol abuse or addiction.
The surgeon general’s advisory kind of validates my sober life choices, but that research has really been out there for a while. I think we’re getting into the territory of [the government] finding a scapegoat for way worse health issues like PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or ‘forever chemicals’ in our food supply) and microplastics. Those things should be attacked with the same ferocity as alcohol.
Alcohol has been consumed throughout generations, so even though it has been linked to cancer, you still hear about people who live in the mountains in Europe and drink wine every day and live to 90. There are so many factors that affect life expectancy. I think hyper-fixating on how alcohol is poison after years of promoting it and making it part of the culture is a scapegoat to hide the fact that there are things in our extremely processed foods that we consume every day that probably do the same things in a more escalated fashion.
I wish there would be more attention put to the harmful day-to-day things we’re consuming that might have equal risk.
I’ll be sober 18 years on February 16. I opened Sans Bar in 2017, so it’s been eight years—it’s weird to say that. I did not think that I’d make it past a year. It’s been such a remarkable journey to see just how [nonalcoholic drink and sober curious culture] has grown and changed. It used to be such a small part of the food and beverage world.
There are more people now [interested in sober living]. We see people in their mid-30s to mid-40s and 50s, mostly women. But that’s who comes back.
I think a lot of men, myself included, struggle to socialize without drinking or TV. The surgeon general also spoke about the loneliness epidemic, and I think that’s a part of it. It’s a major initiative of ours, not only to address alcohol consumption, but also what he’s been saying about the need for connection in our society—especially for men.
We’ve known for a long time that alcohol has negative health and social impacts. It’s important now that we say unequivocally that these liquids contain carcinogens and it is harmful. It’ll be so hard to untangle alcohol from America’s identity, and I’m not a prohibitionist. This country was born in a bar—the revolutionaries met in taverns, westward expansion had a lot to do with saloons, the Civil Rights Movement—meetings happened in churches but also in bars, Stonewall was a bar. So much of the country’s DNA is infused with alcohol. Culturally, it’s hard to disentangle, but it’s going to be necessary.
In college, I would say I was heavily addicted [to alcohol]. My family has had addiction problems and it was passed down. Now, it’s controlled. I can maintain one drink a week or none. I was surrounded by the wrong people in school, I knew it was wrong at the time, but it just didn’t stop me. Then I had a little bit of a breakthrough. I wanted to grow as a person. I made a schedule, started going to the gym, just trying to be my own person.
The whole reason I got into alcohol in general was my sophomore year. I became a resident assistant at school and I didn’t really know how to interact with people. I was diagnosed with autism and ADHD, so consuming alcohol daily helped me be able to interact with people. That was the way I had found to express myself more freely, but I didn’t like that about myself. I don’t need it to have a conversation or for someone to enjoy my company. We only have one life.
With the surgeon general news, it can’t be just alcohol that could cause [all these issues], but I can see how it definitely affects health. I was surprised more women would develop cancer. I don’t think people will consider this when they’re drinking. I wasn’t worrying about having liver cancer in that moment, you’re just trying to have a good time, but I also didn’t know the vast majority of cancers you can get in different places. I can get mouth cancer? I wouldn’t be surprised if more people didn’t know about this. I don’t think that knowledge or culture really exists [in Florida]. Like I haven’t seen a single menu at a restaurant with a section for nonalcoholic drink options. Every restaurant in Florida serves alcohol except for McDonald’s.
Overall, the news reinforces my decision and the goal of my actions—to stop overall. This helps build up that mindset for me.
I was a wine drinker and an at-home mother, so my reward was to have a couple of glasses before bedtime, and that was a routine that I followed for quite a few years. As my kids got older, I wanted to give them a better idea of myself. I didn’t want them to think, Every time I see my mom, she has a glass of wine in her hand. So I quit completely. That was about 20 years ago. I didn’t have a problem; I just didn’t like the visual perception of it.
I always considered wine heart-healthy as opposed to having bourbon or gin or any hard liquors. Some of my relatives consume too much and that had an impact on how I looked at alcohol. I did not want to be that aunt or uncle that drinks too much that you see coming and know by the end of the evening they would be passed out. I didn’t want to perpetuate that type of situation. That’s why I drank wine, I had the idea that it is a little subtle and would be a better option for me.
When I saw the surgeon general’s advisory, I was thinking of my father. My father died of cancer of the esophagus and his liver. He was a heavy drinker. Even though I was drinking wine, I didn’t want any health issues [like those] as I got older. In the South, you did not talk about that. That was taboo. I had no idea about the [increased] breast cancer [risk], I was very surprised. I feel like I dodged a bullet. If I hadn’t stopped, I think my health would be pretty bad.