Gen Z drinks less alcohol: Studies show

Generation Z drinks less alcohol than millennials, according to recent studies.

And that might be a good thing, considering last week’s release of findings that drinking any alcohol can hurt your health.

Generation Z is made up of those born in the late 1990s to the early 2010s. Millennials are children born in the late 1980s and early ‘90s.

A report from Berenberg Research shows Gen Z drinks 20% less per capita than millennials and quite a bit less than either Gen X or baby boomers.

A separate report from Australia’s University of New South Wales found that 44% of those aged 18-24 are drinking less than older generations.

Reasons for the decline include monetary issues, the legalization of marijuana, negative studies linking alcohol consumption to health issues and, of course, hangovers.

This month, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) released a report that indicated no amount of alcohol is safe and that consuming any more than two drinks a week is risky. Canada’s new Guidance on Alcohol and Health says it reflects many studies from the last decade that indicate even small amounts of alcohol can lead to different types of cancer.