A new Gallup poll revealed that Americans are consuming alcohol at the highest rate in 25 years. The poll found 67 percent of American adults drink alcohol on a regular basis. Beer is the favorite beverage, followed by wine and liquor.
Gallup has been tracking this trend for 71 years. They began the poll in 1939, at the end of the Depression, and the number of Americans drinking has remained relatively stable. In 1958, Gallup measured the lowest percentage of drinkers, with only 55 percent of adults identifying themselves as drinkers. Twenty years later, in 1978, the results of the Gallup poll jumped to an all-time high of nearly 71 percent of Americans consuming alcohol.
According to Gallup, one of the most "significant predictors" of whether a person drinks is directly connected to church attendance. People who seldom attend or never attend church are "substantially more likely" to say they drink than those who attend church on a regular basis.
The poll was conducted by phone over a two-day period last month. It was a random sample of more than 1,000 adults.
