Attitudes About Alcohol and Tobacco - Public Opinions On Drinking Alcohol

Most Americans Drink Alcohol

A July 2004 Gallup Poll found that 62% of Americans drink alcoholic beverages, such as liquor (distilled spirits), wine, or beer, down from 66% in 2002, yet up from 58% in 1996. (See Table 10.1.) Nearly four in ten (38%) were "teetotalers," or total abstainers. Since about 1990, the levels of those who drank alcoholic beverages remained below the 71% the Gallup Poll recorded in 1976, 1977, and 1978.

Beer, preferred by 39% of America's drinkers, was the most popular alcoholic beverage in 2004, followed by wine and "hard" liquor. (See Table 10.2.) In July 2004 the popularity of wine (preferred by 33% of respondents that year) was at its highest level since 1999 (34%), and was up from 31% in 2000. Preference for liquor (24%) was up from the 2001 level of 18%.

In 2004 one-third (33%) of drinkers had consumed an alcoholic beverage within the past twenty-four hours, and 38% had ingested alcohol within the past week. (See Table 10.3.) A smaller proportion of people had taken a drink in the past twenty-four hours in 2004 than in 1984 and 1987 (39% and 38%, respectively). Nonetheless, this figure was higher than in the early 1990s (29% in 1990 and 26% in 1992). Likewise, the 2004 past-week figure of 38% was greater than the figures reported in the early 1990s (23% in 1990 and 1994, 24% in 1992).

In July 2004 most respondents (86%) claimed that they had either abstained from drinking or had been light-to-moderate drinkers (one to seven drinks) during the past week. (See Table 10.4.) Thirty-one percent of the drinkers polled reported that they had not drunk an alcoholic beverage within the past week, and 55% had consumed one to seven drinks. Eight percent reported having between eight and nineteen drinks, and 5% reported drinking twenty or more drinks during the period. Most drinkers (75%) did not think they drank more than they should, although one-quarter (25%) reported that they sometimes drank more than they felt they should. (See Table 10.5.)

Family Problems Caused by Alcohol

According to the 2004 Gallup survey, drinking caused family problems for more than one-third of Americans (37%). (See Table 10.6.) This figure is up from the 28% who reported that alcohol had been a source of family troubles in 2002, and is at the highest level ever in the years covered by the survey. Is alcohol becoming more of a problem in families, or are we as a nation simply more willing to discuss issues that take place behind closed doors? It is interesting to note that the proportion of respondents in 2004 who thought drinking had sometimes created a problem in their families (37%) was considerably higher than the proportion of drinkers (25%) who thought that they sometimes drank too much. (See Table 10.5 and Table 10.6.)

Concern about Underage Drinking

According to the 2002 Youth Access to Alcohol Survey, commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Princeton, New Jersey), the nation's largest philanthropic organization supporting health and health care, Americans view underage drinking as a significant problem and support a variety of measures to help reduce teen drinking. More than 90% said they were very or somewhat concerned about teen drinking.

Nancy Kaufman, vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, maintains in the Survey that "under-age drinking is a vast problem with grave consequences. It is a factor in nearly half of all teen automobile crashes, the leading cause of death among teens. Beyond that, alcohol contributes to suicides, homicides, and fatal injuries and is a factor in sexual assaults and date rapes. Obviously, something needs to be done to avoid these serious problems."

TABLE 10.1
Public opinion poll on the drinking of alcoholic beverages, 1939-2004
DO YOU HAVE OCCASION TO USE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES SUCH AS LIQUOR, WINE OR BEER, OR ARE YOU A TOTAL ABSTAINER?
SOURCE: "Do You Have Occasion to Use Alcoholic Beverages Such as Liquor, Wine or Beer?" in Poll Topics & Trends: Alcohol and Drinking, Gallup Poll News Service, July 2004. Copyright © 2004 by The Gallup Organization. Reproduced by permission of The Gallup Organization.

Table 10.7 ranks twenty-six suggested policies to reduce teenage drinking, from most to least supported among all respondents. The table also lists the subgroups found to be the most and least supportive of each policy item. The highest percentages of support were for policies that deal with restrictions on drinking alcoholic beverages in various public locations. For example, 93% of respondents would favor restrictions on drinking on city streets, and 88% supported restrictions on drinking on college campuses.

At the bottom of the list, with 50% or less support, are policies banning certain types of alcohol sales. Almost 40% of the survey respondents would ban happy hours; 31% would support a ban on beer keg sales to individuals. (See Table 10.7.)

Support for alcohol tax increases depended on the use for the revenues gained. If the taxes were used for prevention purposes, 81% would favor such a tax. Fewer (69%) supported a tax increase if it were used to lower other taxes, such as income taxes. Only 34% favored a tax increase if the revenues were used for "any government purpose." (See Table 10.7.)

Several questions concerned alcohol advertising, on which more than half of the respondents favored restrictions. Seventy percent opposed the use of youth-oriented materials (such as cartoons) on alcoholic beverage packaging. Two-thirds (67%) supported a ban on liquor ads on TV, while 59% favored a ban on beer or wine TV ads. Sixty-one percent would outlaw alcohol billboard ads, and six out of ten (62%) favored banning the use of sports teams and athletes as symbols in alcohol marketing. (See Table 10.7.)

Women appeared to be most supportive of restrictive alcohol policies. Male respondents and those ages eighteen to twenty-four were more likely to indicate lower levels of support for restrictive alcohol policies. The policy that revealed the largest difference of opinion was the banning of teenagers in bars. There was a difference of twenty-three points between the responses of women and conservatives and those ages eighteen to twenty-four. (See Table 10.7.)

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of respondents supported a "zero-tolerance" policy for young drivers, in which teenagers would be punished if they tested positive for any amount of alcohol in their blood. Women were the most supportive, with those ages eighteen to twenty-four less supportive. (See Table 10.7.)

Seven out of ten respondents believed that stiffer punishments for teenagers caught drinking would discourage them from obtaining alcohol. (See Figure 10.1.) The most popular punishment for youth offenders was to make them ineligible for school loans (28.9%), followed by a $500 fine (26%) and then community service (23.2%). (See Figure 10.2.) Suspending a teenager's license was the least popular form of punishment (21.9%).

These figures are strikingly different from when the survey asked this question in 1998. In that year, 51.7% favored a one-year license suspension, while 34.5% supported a penalty of twenty hours of community service. Only 10.5% advocated a $500 fine, while just 3.3% supported making these young offenders ineligible for future state college scholarships and loans.

TABLE 10.2
Public opinion poll on whether liquor, wine, or beer is most often drunk, 1992-2004
DO YOU MOST OFTEN DRINK LIQUOR, WINE, OR BEER?
[Based on 644 who drink alcoholic beverages]
SOURCE: "Do You Most Often Drink Liquor, Wine, or Beer?" in Poll Topics & Trends: Alcohol and Drinking, Gallup Poll News Service, July 2004. Copyright © 2004 by The Gallup Organization. Reproduced by permission of The Gallup Organization.

TABLE 10.3
Public opinion poll on when respondents last drank an alcoholic beverage, 1984-2004
WHEN DID YOU LAST TAKE A DRINK OF ANY KIND OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE?
[Based on 644 who drink alcoholic beverages]
SOURCE: "When Did you Last Take a Drink of Any Kind of Alcoholic Beverage?" in Poll Topics & Trends: Alcohol and Drinking, Gallup Poll News Service, July 2004. Copyright © 2004 by The Gallup Organization. Reproduced by permission of The Gallup Organization.

More survey respondents favored fines and community service in 2001 than in 1998. Support for license suspension fell from 51.7% to 21.9%. A significant shift took place in the category of loans. Nearly 29% felt withholding school loans was the best form of punishment for teens in 2001, up from 3.3% in 1998. Considering that many young people need scholarships and loans to afford the skyrocketing costs of higher education, this might be a punishment that will really teach a lesson.

The Youth Access to Alcohol Survey also indicated that respondents believe adults providing alcohol to teens, as well as the teens themselves, are responsible for problems associated with teen drinking. Nearly nine out of ten (87%) either strongly or somewhat supported penalties for adults who provide alcohol to underage drinkers. (See Figure 10.3.)