<p>According to the <a href="http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/social-issues-migration-health/health-at-a-glance-2017_health_glance-2017-en#page74" rel="nofollow noreferrer">OECD</a> (The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), alcohol consumption in its member countries (which includes the US) has been decreasing since [at least] 2000. Litres of pure alcohol consumed (a metric for standardizing alcohol consumption across drinks of varying alcohol content) has fallen from 9.5 litres per capita in 2000 to 9 litres in 2015 (roughly 5% decline).</p>

<p>The definition of alcoholism can vary since it typically includes the frequency of consumption within its own definition. The paper I cited includes stats on binge drinking (at least once a month) by gender, but does not compare data to prior years. There's been a ton of research on this topic, so a bit of googling should quickly turn up something useful. <a href="http://www.camh.ca/en/research/news_and_publications/reports_and_books/Pages/default.aspx" rel="nofollow noreferrer">CAMH</a> has useful publications and so does the <a href="http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/disease-prevention/alcohol-use/publications/2016/public-health-successes-and-missed-opportunities.-trends-in-alcohol-consumption-and-attributable-mortality-in-the-who-european-region,-19902014-2016" rel="nofollow noreferrer">WHO</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-17T14:59:40.107Z
2017-11-17T14:59:40.107Z
macsmith
<p>But, if you read this, it sounds like Alcohol consumption (along with all it's problems including addiction) has increased significantly in the USA. <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/10/542409957/drinking-on-the-rise-in-u-s-especially-for-women-minorities-older-adults" rel="nofollow noreferrer">This study</a> is out just last summer (2017) </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"In the '90s, however, alcohol consumption increased — the percentage
  of people who drank at all increased by nearly half, while high-risk
  and disordered drinking increased by about 20 percent and 12 percent,
  respectively."</p>
</blockquote>

<p>If you go all the way back to Prohibition, then it has clearly <a href="https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://static.vinepair.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/chart2.png&amp;imgrefurl=http://digg.com/2017/history-of-american-alcohol-consumption&amp;h=612&amp;w=800&amp;tbnid=plCgmP2nFMvupM:&amp;tbnh=160&amp;tbnw=209&amp;usg=__0ua7GzjkOM2-EE9vnhwvKQiwfoY%3D&amp;vet=10ahUKEwj-94PZjsbXAhUG0WMKHd3lDMEQ9QEILDAA..i&amp;docid=ox_9Behu8jVFQM&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwj-94PZjsbXAhUG0WMKHd3lDMEQ9QEILDAA" rel="nofollow noreferrer">increased</a></p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/mVyPG.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/mVyPG.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-17T17:19:22.043Z
2017-11-17T17:19:22.043Z
farmersteve
<p>Has alcoholism increased since prohibition days? I've seen the sales outlets for alcohol availability rise since the days of the state liquor stores.
I checked the <a href="https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-facts-and-statistics" rel="nofollow noreferrer">National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism</a> and a news article from <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/americans-are-drinking-more-lot-more-n347126" rel="nofollow noreferrer">NBC</a> without any specific results. Moved to <a href="https://health.stackexchange.com/">Health SE</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-09T17:03:16.533Z
This is probably a better fit for [Health SE](https://health.stackexchange.com/) than here.
Xander
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-10T19:09:00.783Z
Should I move it to Health SE and delete it here or leave it here too.
Thomas Schulte
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-10T23:54:14.443Z
Cross posting is generally discouraged, so either delete it here, or at least edit it to let folks know you've created a copy over there with a link to the new post if they're interested.
Xander
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-17T17:14:33.373Z
Is this the USA or the whole world?
farmersteve
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-21T14:33:05.837Z
The new question location is [here](https://health.stackexchange.com/q/14302).
Xander
<history><consumption>
Has alcoholism increased?
Thomas Schulte
# Has alcoholism increased?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-11-08)

Has alcoholism increased since prohibition days? I've seen the sales outlets for alcohol availability rise since the days of the state liquor stores.
I checked the [National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism](https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-facts-and-statistics) and a news article from [NBC](https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/americans-are-drinking-more-lot-more-n347126) without any specific results. Moved to [Health SE](https://health.stackexchange.com/)

**Tags:** history, consumption

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This is probably a better fit for [Health SE](https://health.stackexchange.com/) than here.  
> **username_0**: Should I move it to Health SE and delete it here or leave it here too.  
> **username_1**: Cross posting is generally discouraged, so either delete it here, or at least edit it to let folks know you've created a copy over there with a link to the new post if they're interested.  
> **username_2**: Is this the USA or the whole world?  
> **username_1**: The new question location is [here](https://health.stackexchange.com/q/14302).  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2017-11-17. Score: 0

According to the [OECD](http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/social-issues-migration-health/health-at-a-glance-2017_health_glance-2017-en#page74) (The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), alcohol consumption in its member countries (which includes the US) has been decreasing since [at least] 2000. Litres of pure alcohol consumed (a metric for standardizing alcohol consumption across drinks of varying alcohol content) has fallen from 9.5 litres per capita in 2000 to 9 litres in 2015 (roughly 5% decline).

The definition of alcoholism can vary since it typically includes the frequency of consumption within its own definition. The paper I cited includes stats on binge drinking (at least once a month) by gender, but does not compare data to prior years. There's been a ton of research on this topic, so a bit of googling should quickly turn up something useful. [CAMH](http://www.camh.ca/en/research/news_and_publications/reports_and_books/Pages/default.aspx) has useful publications and so does the [WHO](http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/disease-prevention/alcohol-use/publications/2016/public-health-successes-and-missed-opportunities.-trends-in-alcohol-consumption-and-attributable-mortality-in-the-who-european-region,-19902014-2016).


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### Answer by username_2 on 2017-11-17. Score: 0

But, if you read this, it sounds like Alcohol consumption (along with all it's problems including addiction) has increased significantly in the USA. [This study](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/10/542409957/drinking-on-the-rise-in-u-s-especially-for-women-minorities-older-adults) is out just last summer (2017)

> "In the '90s, however, alcohol consumption increased — the percentage
> of people who drank at all increased by nearly half, while high-risk
> and disordered drinking increased by about 20 percent and 12 percent,
> respectively."

If you go all the way back to Prohibition, then it has clearly [increased](https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://static.vinepair.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/chart2.png&imgrefurl=http://digg.com/2017/history-of-american-alcohol-consumption&h=612&w=800&tbnid=plCgmP2nFMvupM:&tbnh=160&tbnw=209&usg=__0ua7GzjkOM2-EE9vnhwvKQiwfoY%3D&vet=10ahUKEwj-94PZjsbXAhUG0WMKHd3lDMEQ9QEILDAA..i&docid=ox_9Behu8jVFQM&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-94PZjsbXAhUG0WMKHd3lDMEQ9QEILDAA)

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/mVyPG.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/mVyPG.png)


---

