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For the fourth year in a row, the Canadian per capita consumption of alcohol has fallen, hitting a 20-year low of an average of 6.8 litres of alcohol per person according to newly released Statistics Canada data for 2024-25. That’s a drop of 1.5 litres from a peak of 8.3 litres of alcohol consumed per person, back at the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Alcohol historian and Carleton University professor Rod Phillips believes there are several factors influencing Canadians to hit the bottle much more infrequently.
“Drinking has declined among younger cohorts in particular, and studies suggest that one reason is an acceptance that alcohol is unhealthy,” said Phillips. “There’s a vigorous debate about how much is unhealthy, but it’s fair to say that there are no health benefits from drinking alcohol. To this extent, abstaining is the healthiest option, and that message seems to have taken hold among younger age-groups more than older drinkers.”
In 2023, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) released a study and guidance report that found no amount of alcohol is completely safe for health. The buzzkill report found that even three to six drinks per week presented a moderate health risk and increased cancer risk (especially breast and colon cancers).
“Health is not just a matter of the cancers and cardiac diseases linked to alcohol consumption, but also a sense of wellbeing—avoiding hangovers and the feeling of tiredness that often follow drinking,” Phillips added.
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The alcohol historian has also noticed a cultural shift where many gatherings no longer include tippling, but instead more and more teetotaler attendees.
“I think a non-alcoholic culture has developed. Many people no longer think of alcohol as a precondition of socializing and having fun,” Phillips told The Hub. “Look at the early morning dance parties, without any alcohol, becoming popular in Europe.”
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Phillips believes another explanation for reduced alcohol consumption is affordability.
“People are spending less on alcohol and treating it as an unnecessary expense within the universe of commodities and services competing for purchase. At the same time, sales of non-alcoholic beverages are robust and growing…” he added.
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Boomers drink less because they’re geriatric.
Millenials are getting older. Many are on anti depressant/anxiety medication. Alcohol is a depresaant, and leaves people feeling unwell and tired. So they drink less.
Gen-Z don’t drink because they can’t afford it.
And cuz weed is better. Source: me
Sure, not like people are better educated about the health risks of alcohol, or anything.
lol! Yeah, that too.
This is the answer. Well done dude. Thanks. Although some Millenials just choose health or a busy lifestyle. But your do right about the psychiatric prescriptions part.
It’s because weeds far far better for decompressing after work or when out with friends. We need to allow cannabis drinks at bars and shit.
The thing is, smoking is really bad for your health. Wether it’s weed or tobacco. It leaves tar in your lungs and affects your cardiovascular system, increasing the risk of heart related problems.
Oils, or edibles take a couple of hours to start having an effect and it lasts a lot longer. You basically have to plan your day around it.
This isn’t even true these days; there’s fast acting gummies, drinks, and edibles that hit just as fast as an alcoholic drink 🤷♂️
Well, I’m speaking from experience. So, I dunno. Maybe you and I have had a different experience.
You basically have to plan your day around it.
Usually hits in less than an hour and mostly gone by the third hour. Not really that hard to “plan”, and actually easier to manage than booze
That’s not my experience.
When I take oils, it takes around 2 hours for the effects to hit and then it lasts for about 5 hours until it’s completely gone. That’s a whole 7 hours. So yeah, you kinda have to plan around that.
While with alcohol, I can have one drink with a meal and barely feel anything. Or two to have a light effect that’ll be gone within an hour. So no, it’s not harder with alcohol. Quite the opposite. For me, at least.
Everyone’s body metabolized things differently I guess.
I can have one drink with a meal and barely feel anything
And if you eat a third of a 10mg gummy?
Don’t take oils directly then, use oils to bake a giant batch of brownies
Dry herb vaping alleviates this issue.
Never said it wasn’t, you’re right. Personally I prefer a bong, nothing else does it quite like a good bowl or a fat dab.
Not this Canadian.
U and me both.
You lads up for sharing a two four at the cabin this weekend?
Fresh baby at home gotta take care of. Otherwise I’d be up for shitfacing.
Congratulations my friend!
🤗
What’ll you be drinkin’?
Propeller Pale.
People who grew up watching boomers drink away all the problems, and how ineffective that is, don’t want to drink? Colour me shocked!
It’s also crazy expensive to drink, especially going out for drinks. It’s just not worth the cost to do, the money is better spent elsewhere.
Canadians are rawdogging the end of civilisation. Bad ass!
I’m doing my part to keep the industry afloat.
o7
I think I now drink less than one time per month and I don’t ever go out in bars anymore.
Not me
Not me either. COVID started a habit that never ended… heh.
It was truly a booze-heavy time. I will say that you, as well as myself, should moderate and avoid drinking on weekdays. Cheers!
6.8 L per year? Per month? Ffs
Per day?
I quit drinking 20 years ago. Not because I had a problem but because I found myself falling asleep at the bar after a drink or two, especially after a hard day’s work.
And when I did get a good buzz I found myself chasing it hard and just getting way too wasted, wasting my Saturday morning with stupid hangovers.
And then there was the cost. It blows my mind how staggeringly expensive a night out has gotten. What would have been $50-70 bucks worth of drinks (say 10 units over 6 hours) would be easily $150-200, per person.
I would much rather eat some mushies or drop some acid/MDMA. Far cheaper.
Homebrew remains cheap and easy. Apple juice is annoyingly expensive to get, though, for my cider. :(
Alcohol is so expensive, I get why consumption is down.
