THE DECLINE OF drinking

Across the world, including in India, alcohol consumption is on the wane. As premiumisation becomes par for the course, and mindful drinking the new normal, the liquor industry is bracing for one of the biggest 'shifts' in consumer attitudes

- KUNAL DOLEY

JUST CHEW ON this—over a fifth of the male population in India (22.9%) reported consuming alcohol in 2019-2021, as per the fifth National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) conducted by the Union ministry of health and family welfare.

While the figure may sound alarming, it actually marks a noticeable decline from the previous percentage—29.2%—reported by NFHS-4 in 2015-16.

Among Indian women (15-54 years), the use of alcohol showed a decreasing trend as well, if not by a huge margin—from 1.2% in 2015-16 (NFHS-4) to 0.8% in 2019-21 (NFHS-5).

Globally, too, the trends reflect a marked shift. In the US, for instance, 54% of the adults polled by Gallup this year said they drink alcohol—the lowest in the global research and management consulting firm’s 90-year history of tracking Americans’ drinking behaviour. The previous figures were 62% in 2023 and 58% in 2024. The steepest drop was apparently seen among the younger populations, the survey notes.

And it’s not just with hard liquor. In Germany—best known for Munich’s Oktoberfest—beer consumption has been on a steady decline over the years. From almost 143 litres after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, it now stands at an average of 88 litres per capita a year, as per reports. In Oktoberfest itself last year, visitors consumed 6.5 million litres of beer, down from 7.3 million litres in 2019.

For years, alcohol use has been seen as an 'emerging public health concern', but now, it seems, the course is changing.

Evolution in drinking habits