Younger people appear to be driving a change in drinking culture, with research from the US echoing Australian findings about declining alcohol consumption by gen Zers and millennials.

The latest study found that alcohol use among adults in the US has declined for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The largest decline in any alcohol use was among gen Z adults (those aged 14 to 29), whose drinking dropped more than 5 per cent between 2022 and 2024, according to the findings.

When it came to heavy drinking – five or more drinks a day or 15 a week for men, and four a day or eight a week for women – millennials (aged 30 to 45) had the greatest decrease, at 17 per cent over the same period.

The researchers, from the University of Southern California’s Keck Medicine facility and Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, suggested changing social attitudes might be one reason for the decline.

Analysing data from 114,352 US adults who participated in a national health survey, they found that across all ages, any alcohol use fell by almost 2 per cent from 2022 to 2024, while heavy drinking dropped by 8 per cent.

But while younger people seem to be showing more restraint, the findings – published this week in Annals of Internal Medicine – indicate that gen Xers and boomers are not.

“Heavy drinking among ages 50-64 is up by more than a third since 2018, a concerning trend because this age group faces some of the greatest risks of harm from alcohol, including cirrhosis and alcohol-related cancers,” said the study’s principal investigator, Brian P Lee.

Australian research in recent years has produced similar findings, with a study published by South Australia’s Flinders University at the end of last year showing young Aussies are drinking much less than older generations.

Analysing more than two decades of data from more than 23,000 Australians, it found gen Zers, in particular, were more likely to abstain completely or drink significantly less.

“For decades, alcohol has been deeply embedded in social life, but that’s changing,” study co-author Kirrilly Thompson said.

“Younger Australians are growing up in a different world – one where abstaining from alcohol is increasingly normal, and where digital socialising, rising living costs, and health awareness are reshaping how people spend their time and money.”

Lead author of the Flinders study, Gianluca Di Censo, said gen Zers was nearly 20 times more likely to choose not to drink alcohol compared to baby boomers.

“This isn’t just a phase; it appears to be a sustained change in behaviour that could have long-term public health benefits,” Di Censo said.

Binge drinking is no longer considered ‘cool’ by many younger people. Photo: Pexels

The proportion of adults aged 18 to 24 who drank alcohol monthly decreased from 34 per cent in to 29 per cent in 2022-23, according to the Australian National Drug Strategy Household Survey published in mid-2025.

It also reported a continuing increase in the proportion of young people who did not drink any alcohol, with just over 16 per cent never having had a full glass of alcohol (compared with 7.5 per cent in 2001).

Australian health guidelines suggest men and women should drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than four standard drinks on any one day.

Many of those who cut back are switching to zero or low-strength alcoholic options, which have proliferated in recent years.

And it is not just young Americans and Australians who are drinking significant less alcohol than their parents’ generation. A group of academics writing for The Conversation last December said a similar trend has been seen in Britain and Nordic countries.

They said interviews with young people in a range of countries identified uncertainty and worry about the future, concern about health, changes to technology and leisure, and shifting relationships with parents as key reasons for the decline in drinking.

The researchers also suggested many young people no longer regarded binge drinking as “cool”.

“Alcohol abstinence has become more socially accepted among young people, along with choosing to consume alcohol moderately.”