Beware Beware
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It's generally the case that liquor sales spike during an economic slump. So it's not exactly surprising to hear that teetotalers are about as common these days as compelling plot lines on the HBO series "Entourage."
Still, Americans are taking to the bottle with unique vigor, according to a recent poll by Gallup. The pollster reports that Americans are downing more booze than they have at any point since 1985. (It's true that the country wasn't in a downturn in 1985--but it was morning in America, and really, what better way to start a morning than with a quick snort?)
Gallup has been tracking American imbibing trends for 71 years, and its latest installment, completed in July, found that 67 percent of Americans report that they consume alcohol on a regular basis.
Gallup's data show that drinking rates in the United States have remained fairly steady through the past seven decades, with the low point coming in 1958 when only 55 percent of poll responders copped to regular drinking. The high point was from 1976-1978, the early days of the Carter administration, when 71 percent said that they drank. Well, how would you have gotten through the seventies?
The recent poll found that being young, well-educated, and in a higher income bracket increases a person's propensity to drink. Conversely, the older and more religious people are, the less likely they are to drink.
As for Americans' adult beverage of choice, beer remains the most popular, particularly among young men and those living in the Midwest. But its popularity has been waning each year since 1992. So--another round of bourbon, bartender
It's generally the case that liquor sales spike during an economic slump. So it's not exactly surprising to hear that teetotalers are about as common these days as compelling plot lines on the HBO series "Entourage."
Still, Americans are taking to the bottle with unique vigor, according to a recent poll by Gallup. The pollster reports that Americans are downing more booze than they have at any point since 1985. (It's true that the country wasn't in a downturn in 1985--but it was morning in America, and really, what better way to start a morning than with a quick snort?)
Gallup has been tracking American imbibing trends for 71 years, and its latest installment, completed in July, found that 67 percent of Americans report that they consume alcohol on a regular basis.
Gallup's data show that drinking rates in the United States have remained fairly steady through the past seven decades, with the low point coming in 1958 when only 55 percent of poll responders copped to regular drinking. The high point was from 1976-1978, the early days of the Carter administration, when 71 percent said that they drank. Well, how would you have gotten through the seventies?
The recent poll found that being young, well-educated, and in a higher income bracket increases a person's propensity to drink. Conversely, the older and more religious people are, the less likely they are to drink.
As for Americans' adult beverage of choice, beer remains the most popular, particularly among young men and those living in the Midwest. But its popularity has been waning each year since 1992. So--another round of bourbon, bartender
