Gen Z Spending 87% less and most sober

[u/Weekly_Camel_2649]

[u/Ok-River3197]

either that's a complete lie or me and my whole friend circle are alcoholics

[u/Pinglenook → u/Ok-River3197]

Gen Z are currently 14-29 years old. So not all of gen Z is allowed to buy alcohol.

And of the ones who are, most are probably buying cheap alcohol, not fancy wines like some gen X'ers do and fancy whiskies like some millenials do. Not specifically because they're gen Z, but just because they're young.

[u/it777777 → u/Pinglenook]

Very good analysis. In fact, in the US, only about half of Gen Z can buy alcohol, explaining 50% of the "loss". Buying cheaper alcohol might explain another 25%.

For a valid comparison we would need the spendings for millennials from about 2010.

[u/luisgdh → u/Pinglenook]

and fancy whiskies like some millenials do

As a millenial that buys fancy whisky, I feel exposed

[u/BlackJackSackIcePack → u/Pinglenook]

Gen Z seems way to wide of a generation, like I'm 29 and I grew up in a very very different world to 14-23 year olds

[u/lo0u → u/Pinglenook]

The youngest gen z person is 17 right now. Anyone born in 2010 onwards is gen alpha.

[u/Zealousideal_Step709 → u/Ok-River3197]

Both could be true.

[u/Desmang → u/Ok-River3197]

Or you haven't grasped just how much the older generations like drinking.

[u/Hot-Firefighter-2331 → u/Ok-River3197]

[u/Daca-P → u/Ok-River3197]

I think it's more so the average consumption compared to earlier generations. When my parents were 15–25, they'd go out and get completely wasted every weekend. Back then, that was kind of the norm, and most teens and young adults would do it. Nowadays, there are still people who do so, but it's not as much of a norm anymore. More people choose not to go out, go out less often, or go out without getting completely wasted every week.

Add to that the stricter laws and enforcement surrounding the drinking age, greater awareness of the harmful effects of alcohol, and the fact that alcohol has become comically expensive, and it's not unreasonable to conclude that alcohol consumption is declining pretty drastically.

[u/ron_obvious → u/Ok-River3197]

The next generation would be AA, so it’s a logical hypothesis /s

[u/sexythanosUwU → u/Ok-River3197]

Me and my friends literally only drink on special ocassions like birthday parties and shit

[u/grandvache → u/Ok-River3197]

It's not a lie, it's just completely devoid of context.

GenZ who are old enough to drink are spending almost the same proportion of their income on alcohol as millennials did at the same age. They're getting less for their money and they're buying better, but they're spending the same kind of ammount.

[u/YouGurt_MaN14 → u/Ok-River3197]

I wonder how much of it is COVID related too. Iirc alcohol sales were fucking insane then. Now with people actually going back to the office it would make sense it dropped off

[u/Asleep-Corner7402 → u/Ok-River3197]

It might be charging in America but it's alive and well in Ireland. I've a 19 year old.

[u/ScarletString13]

There's also the fact that they might be engaging in a different substance or addiction instead of alchohol

[u/SheDrinksScotch → u/ScarletString13]

This is such a dumb statistic.

We are talking about 14-29 year olds.

Almost half of them arent even legal drinking age yet.

[u/ScarletString13 → u/SheDrinksScotch]

That's kinda the point made by a different comment thread here. And I agree. It is a dumb statistic.

Also, I'm just insinuating that some kids in the bracket might be gacha/gambling junkies or whatever vape and whippit trend chasers

[u/ScarletSolari]

I'll give them credit for this, but they lose points for falling for vaping.

We almost killed the nicotine industry 

[u/communityneedle → u/ScarletSolari]

Im a high school teacher and the big problem we have is those oral nicotine pouches. To add insult to injury, for some reason those little assholes will almost exclusively dispose of them by tossing them in the urinals, so everybody has to pee on used Zyn pouches

[u/BigMeatPeteLFGM → u/communityneedle]

exclusively dispose of them by tossing them in the urinals

Not a generational problem. It's a guy thing. Gum, cigs, pouches... Anything that can be spit, gets spit into urinals. Happens in my accounting office.

[u/nefarious_jp04x → u/ScarletSolari]

It’s both Nic Vapes and THC vapes (at least more common in legal states)

[u/feanormania → u/ScarletSolari]

That’s impossible. There are bands, gums, people would even take it in pill form if possible

[u/Sufficient-Sir5366 → u/ScarletSolari]

Don't forget diamonds lol

Such a scam industry lol

[u/eldido → u/ScarletSolari]

That and gambling ...

[u/xdoble7x]

This graphic doesn't mean anything because there are way less amount gen Z customers than boomers...

This should be divided by the amount of people in each generation able to purchase alcohol

[u/Matlock_Beachfront → u/xdoble7x]

And some gen Z are just 14...

[u/win_awards]

I want to point this out because it's always happening in very small ways that we don't notice, but look at the framing here: choosing not to spend money is the same as taking money from companies. The alcohol industry has not lost any money here, they're just not making as much money as they used to, but somehow that's a flaw in the consumer.

We do not appreciate how subtly, through a thousand slightly tweaked and twisted turns of phrase or literal framing of pictures our world view is shaped to make it seem like we owe our labor to the capital owners.

[u/charchavanni]

Inconsiderate and insensitive Gen-Z. Can't they see the billionaires are not able to upgrade their $200 million yacht and $500 million private jet.

[u/CowJuiceDisplayer → u/charchavanni]

Poor billionaires. Now they can only afford to coat their massive pools with silver instead of gold.

[u/ThisIsJegger]

Idk about "most" sober. Weed kinda took the alchahol spot in gen z.

[u/Redmangc1 → u/ThisIsJegger]

It really doesnt help that bars are so damn expensive. Social drinking is just to much now

[u/sdeanjr1991 → u/Redmangc1]

Surprised it too this long to find a comment stating “hey the economy has SUCKED since Gen Z hit drinking age.” Their third space growing up has been the internet, not like how a lot of us had cheap movie spots, places to go out and eat, or bars we could frequent as early 20 something’s. Hell, I’m in my mid thirties and now I look at it as a waste of money, not because I don’t want to do it, but because the tab runs higher than ever for the same services or tab.

[u/Jbob9954]

I would definitely not say sober lol. Look at nicotine and weed usage

[u/totallyrealname → u/Jbob9954]

Was gonna say, how much of this coincides with weed legislation?

[u/Skabbtanten]

Ah. A colorful graph saying things without substance is the best type of misleading statistics. "Source - drinks market analysis" is almost too funny to read.

I don't say the claim is incorrect and the post is certainly not a detailed case study. However there are a few very important factors left unattended, or at least not shown;

1. From when to when was each generation measured?

2. how is the data of each consumer's age collected?

3. is this just based on a survey? Which metrics were used and how many were asked?

4. worldwide or "US world wide"?

5. are and how economics factored in?

I don't doubt younger generation drink less. I've seen it and noticed a rapid decline myself, especially at university. Just "87% less spending" is a very weird measure without any facts backing it up.

[u/Mammoth-Buddy8912 → u/Skabbtanten]

Reddit is becoming like Facebook for a while with the constant posts/ images like this.  

And generation posts are the easiest to karma farm and get engagement 

[u/redditurus_est → u/Skabbtanten]

The most egregious point is that Gen Z has a fraction of the population of the boomers. So simply looking at absolute revenue from each generation makes no sense at all.

[u/AnyEstablishment1663]

Just because they’re not drinking alcohol doesn’t mean they’re sober

[u/Aaron252016 → u/AnyEstablishment1663]

California sober

[u/Soosietyrell → u/AnyEstablishment1663]

Right? Everyone acts like its them being sober, but really, they all are doing prescription meds and weed related products.

[u/Gizm00]

Can someone explain that math to me as I feel i am too dumb. Millenials consumed 23 bil, z 3 bil - thats 20 bil difference, over 4 years, that be 80 billion, where's this 830 billion figure coming from? What am I missing?

[u/Effective_Force_5478 → u/Gizm00]

The number’s real, the story isn’t. Alcohol companies lost $830B in stock value, not sales, and it’s because of health trends, interest rates, a post-pandemic bubble and older people drinking less too, not just Gen Z. The chart is also off, since its bars don’t come close to $830B and a lot of Gen Z can’t legally drink yet.

[u/ThoughtsonYaoi → u/Gizm00]

I'm pretty sure the whole thing is made up.

This article from the source of this graph says something completely different - almost opposite.

[u/Cute-Sir4775]

Now show Gen Z nicotine consumption and gambling addictions

[u/Malfeous]

this graph is misleading. Half of gen z isn’t even legal drinking age yet

[u/MulberryDeep → u/Malfeous]

No, about a bit under 25% are under 18, which is the global standard for the drinking age and by far the most used one

[u/HaruspexSan → u/Malfeous]

Gen Z is ranging roughly from 1997 to 2012. Which means that (at least for most of the world, where he drinking age is 18) everyone born until 2008 is allowed to drink.

This means that 15 years of gen z years, minus 4 (let us forget that many people drink before the age of 18) you get 11 years which is roughly 3/4 of the people.

So 3/4th of gen z is drinking age and they are spending 13.24% of what other generations spend. They should he spending 17.55B on alcohol.

Just for the fun of it: If half of genz was older than the drinking age, they should spend half of 23.4B which is 11.7B, which is still 3.7 times more than 3.1B.

Disclaimer: Technically you would ne to adjust for the amount of Millennials worldwide compared to GenZ.

[u/Feralight99 → u/HaruspexSan]

This stat is actually limited to the US with it's higher drinking age, it was taken from https://www.vizit.com/blog/gen-z-is-rewriting-the-rules-of-drinking--heres-what-brands-need-to-know originally. It seems north America has a downtrend but other continents aren't seeing the same trends, and other statistics seem to reach different conclusions such as this IWSR article

[u/Important-Author-660 → u/Malfeous]

As we all know America is the only country that exists in the world, and 21 is the universal legal age for drinking.

[u/Accomplished_Yam8679]

In Australia at least it has become cost prohibitive. We used to be able to go out and smash drinks all night and not put too bad a dent in the wallet. Now a pint costs almost as much as any other party favour you might want to buy.

[u/plsendmysufferring → u/Accomplished_Yam8679]

Went to a pub on a Saturday lunchtime, in melbourne. Paid $19.70 for one pint of Guinness.

[u/Fetlocks_Glistening]

US or worldwide? And we talking substituting by  weed and shit, or like going proper clean? 

[u/Subject-Creme → u/Fetlocks_Glistening]

Could be worldwide, my gen Z team members in Vietnam consume less alcohol than my generation (millennials)

Revenue of the whole beer industry is dropping every year

[u/VP_The_Vandal → u/Fetlocks_Glistening]

I don’t really drink anymore, but I smoke hella weed. So this lines up with me personally.

[u/Brave_Mess_3155]

I salute their sacrifice.  I used to get a case of highlife for $13.99 tor $15.99 at Wal-Mart, and that was a great bargain.  Now I can pickup a case of Miller lite for $9.99 at my local jewel osco. Its less than 50 cents a beer. 

Beer is cheaper than soda now. Its wild. 

[u/404notfound420 → u/Brave_Mess_3155]

But is lite even beer?

[u/Glorpologie → u/Brave_Mess_3155]

Beer can be cheaper than water here

[u/Ponchyan]

I’m old. When I was a kid, “grown ups” drank daily. I followed that path, largely to deal with my neurodivergence, although I didn’t understand at that the time. I much prefer cannabis, and eventually stopped drinking altogether. I think the ready distraction of the cell phone reduces the need to consume alcohol in order to escape the misery of modern life.

[u/PopSwayzee]

They aren’t “sober”. A lot of them smoke a bunch of weed, do party drugs, and are addicted to nicotine and gas station research chem opiates 😭

[u/Serialtorrenter → u/PopSwayzee]

It'll be scary in a few days when the DEA emergency schedules 7-OH on or after November 13. People who can't quit are going to be switching en masse to illicit opioids, and I predict overdose deaths will increase significantly.

[u/Psychostickusername]

It was £6.10 for a pint of Madri in my local last week, alcohol ain't the problem, I'm just not fucking loaded

[u/TedTyro]

Hasn't 'lost' anything, garbage greed-fuelled corporate speak.

It hasn't sold as much. Enormous difference. Bastards trying to make the public think theyve missed something theyre entitled to. Scum.

[u/daniyyelyon]

Gen Z is right on this one. I'm a millennial, used to be a heavy drinker every other day and I had to quit. It was killing my body and I ended up in the hospital several times for alcohol related conditions. Quit in April and still dealing with some of these issues. Do yourself a favor and follow suit... we are literally drinking poison y'all

[u/st0pmakings3ns3 → u/daniyyelyon]

All the best dude, you will do it :)

[u/CompetitiveSport1 → u/daniyyelyon]

It should be noted that the idea that Gen z is drinking less is contested. Also, they tend to drink higher abv drinks, implying this is partially economically motivated

[u/mesophyte]

"Lost", huh? Did it actually lose money, or are they counting hypothetical dollars they imagine they would have earned if everyone drank as much as the peak generation? Because I'm betting it's the latter.

[u/Vanguard-Override]

They probably just replaced alcohol with vape and weed.

[u/MsChateau]

Only a little over half of Gen Z is even 21+. That might have something to do with it as well.

[u/fishlipz69]

Why they making it out like its sad news, booze and cigs can fuck off hahah

[u/uncultured_swine2099 → u/fishlipz69]

Wont you think of the poor alcohol industry billionaires?

[u/BlurryBigfoot74]

I love how this isn't "younger people are making better lifestyle choices" and framed as "Gen Z is destroying the ecomony"

[u/Timely-Lion-5512]

You could make this graph for every generation.

Young people don’t have the money to buy a $60 whiskey. They buy the $4 dollar vodka and mix it or beer.

It’s been like that forever.

[u/jdPetacho → u/Timely-Lion-5512]

That's just wrong not true. And $4 vodka? Where the hell are you living?

[u/IsolationMovement-YT → u/Timely-Lion-5512]

The effects of COVID on bars and pubs as a third space can’t be dismissed. I get strange looks from anyone Gen Z when I propose lunch beers at work (yes, a very London specific cultural thing, but ask anyone over 30 and you’ll see the difference of early city work).

Increasingly though people do have a much better relationship with alcohol, and that is very important. The net gain was worth it IMO now that we’ve seen other third spaces increase in the UK, like the American social coffee experience, but I do fear that young people are more and more averse to embracing the slight chaos of youth which many of us credit for helping us become more rounded in general.

My worry is that cannabis and other drugs have spiked massively, and we are now seeing it common for 16-20 year olds to be addicted to Ket and Coke at a much stronger rate than I ever saw. Weed and Ket, depressants, which isolate us as a society (said as someone who loves to indulge in psychoactive experiences and has tried many things, and enjoys regular smoking)
Saying that, too, I suppose we also had coke and silly stuff like MCAT. The thing is, we all need indulgences to a degree, and I’m not sold that the earlier generations are psychologically so healthy that they aren’t replacing alcohol with other vices.

[u/deckard1980 → u/IsolationMovement-YT]

I agree with your points but I would say as a 30+ year gym goer, theres definitely more young people working out now and (annoyingly) they do use the gym as a social third space

[u/LeadFreePaint → u/Timely-Lion-5512]

Nah, shits different now. All the data supports it.

[u/HipsterBikePolice → u/Timely-Lion-5512]

Yeah this topic keeps coming up on Reddit lol. Anyone could pick up a case of Bud lite and pay less than a dollar per beer to so the cost argument doesn’t hold much weight. I think it’s bars and restaurants that are losing customers because we socialize differently now and yes a drink is expensive when you go out. I think part of it you hit on with the $60 whiskey. I’m an elder millennial and have moved past my whiskey and craft brewery phase in life and spend way less than I did 10 years ago on drinking. Less drinking is a net positive for everyone as a son of someone who died of alcohol addiction

[u/Avanchnzel → u/Timely-Lion-5512]

Apparently though, even if you correct for age, then Gen Z is spending 60% less on alcohol than previous generations.

[u/DJ_ICU]

Alcohol industry lost 830 billion dollars??? No, this is bullshit. They simply did not earn as much money as optimistic businessmen and speculators had promised. And that is a crucial difference.

[u/WinzintVanGork]

As someone that works in addiction therapy. In my experience gen z isn’t in addiction therapy for alcohol but for other substances. Sometimes with near to no research done beforehand. Can’t count the times i had to explain that oxy is also an opiate. Exactly like heroin. So we treat it the same way.
The way to get illegal substances is way easier than a few years back and the information about drug use (dangers, safer use rules, addiction prevention etc) is still veeeery lacking and way to less. I am working in germany btw.

[u/Wookieschnitzel]

How does this coincide with the legalization of cannabis

[u/Karanpmc]

Can we get per capita? Assuming much fewer Gen Z potential drinkers than other generations....

[u/platinumrug]

I so fucking hate the idea of "losing money" when it actually isn't money they have they are losing, it's money they're projected to get that they're not getting because their target audience isn't buying their shit. Why would Gen Z do any of this bullshit when they graduated to Covid? I know people who couldn't walk down the aisle at their weddings or at their graduations due to Covid bro... like alcohol ain't all that at fucking all. Expensive as fuck for the "good shit" and it literally doesn't do more than the cheap shit.

[u/Only_One_Kenobi → u/platinumrug]

All of these reports/analysis are worded as if we somehow owe the corporations our money, but at the same time they don't owe us reasonable salaries or non enshitified products?

[u/Fudgewhizzle]

They didn't lose it, they didn't make it.

[u/Zetavu]

Considering most of GenZ is still under 21...

That and a lot live at home some their GenX parents are probably buying the booze.

Also this is from a voluntary survey, maybe GenZ just doesn't like surveys?

Also, how are Boomers still drinking, let alone filling out surveys?

[u/TiaHatesSocials]

We all drink less. It’s too expensive in comparison to what ppl make.

[u/frogOnABoletus]

I just lost £100 because no one gave me £100 :(

Companies are so obsessed with infinate growth that they think not making as much as last year is the same as losing money. Things ebb and flow, nothing can go always up.

[u/Soggy_Scallion_4112]

You cannot lost if you didnt had it. They just projected a number and didnt reached that. Capitalist mfs

[u/Sorry_Emergency_7781]

As a boomer I can say I’ve drank more than enough to fill several swimming pools. I’ve had fun , been ill , done things I’d never do sober, got into scrapes and made a general arse of myself at times. All under the guise of enjoyment.

As of now I’m sober for years and looking back I feel I wasted too much money on something that was socially acceptable. If I never drink again I’ll be happy with that, it has zero appeal for me and I just cannot figure out how stupid I’ve been and seeing people tipsy just makes me think how sad they are.. yes I’m being judgemental but I’ve been there and wish in many cases I hadn’t

[u/Throwaway999991473]

Okay but do they even have the budget to do so? The older generations plausibly have the funds to spend money on alcohol at all, and also to purchase more expensive products

[u/YoungDiscord → u/Throwaway999991473]

I saw a stat once thatmost of the money the alcohol industry makes is off of alcoholics

[u/2M4D → u/Throwaway999991473]

Half of Gen Z are not of drinking age and I would imagine the rest have less money than a generation 10-15 year older than them. I have no idea why this narrative is being spread so hard. The trend already started like 5 years ago when most of Gen Z were literal kids.

[u/Used_School4480]

I’m sure £7-8 a pint has nothing to do with it, when young people can’t get on the property ladder

[u/Orobero]

They didn't actually lose anything, they just didn't make as much profit as they expected.

[u/Borg_Tech_Support]

All these alcohol lobbyists helping ban THC seltzer pissed me off and stopped me from drinking alcohol.

[u/technofiend]

I resent the presumptuousness that anything was "lost"; alcohol hasn't earned the time, money and attention they presume to be theirs? Fuck em. Alcohol is bad for you anyway and Gen Z prefers something else Good for them.

[u/Random_Guy_47]

I hate headlines like this. It's so misleading.

The alcohol industry hasn't "lost" anything. Making less money than you predicted isn't a "loss".

[u/Primary_Excuse_7183]

Are we making the assumption that because they’re not spending it on alcohol they’re “more sober” in totality…. Or just not drinking?

[u/Binary_Whispers → u/Primary_Excuse_7183]

I am a millennial that is not a fan of drinking. Maybe once every 5 years, but I smoke weed regularly. I imagine many out there like me.

[u/Dexford211]

Drink? Can barely afford rent, health insurance, transportation and food.

[u/555byte]

Apparently my Gen X is winning the booze race. We are a much smaller demographic.

[u/ElectrostaticHotwave]

Do one for vaping next!

[u/allGeeseKnow]

20b per generation per year yet 800b down in 4 years? I'm falling for the engagement bait.

[u/gogul1980]

Good. Like smoking, it’s a huge burden on services in the UK. Have a drink occasionally isn’t so bad but it used to be a culture of binge drinking in the UK which led to a huge drain on all services. Police, ambulance and hospitals. I hope that as we progress, people get educated younger and we find a big drop in alcohol abuse.

[u/TooNGooN89]

When I was a teenager, everyone used to complain we drank too much. Seems like a positive move to me.

[u/blaspheminCapn]

They're not sober

[u/badger906]

Not that I’m Gen Z or even drink alcohol. But the simple answer.. make it cheaper.

[u/BVits-Lover]

Probably cause they can't afford the alcohol.

[u/BlackTree78910]

How do you lose money you never had in the first place?

[u/Frost4412 → u/BlackTree78910]

Welcome to business, where money not earned is money lost. Go to any construction job and you will find management bitching about how they lost n-thousands to millions of dollars on a job. The reality is they just made less than their bid accounted for.

[u/Fragrant_Entry9232]

They didnt lose, their projected revenue was wrong and they came up short because their projections were wrong

[u/NoMention696]

If money you could’ve had but didn’t is counted as a loss, then I lost billions the past lifetime because the bank won’t give it to me

[u/Br14lyf-as-well]

Why drink n drive when you can smoke and fly

[u/Few_Alternative_6372]

Gen Z thinks if you have 2 beers you’re an alcoholic

[u/paulerxx]

Gen z is broke af and anti-social

[u/throwawayforinstalol]

i’m 22 and haven’t ever even tried alcohol lol, what’s the point? i’ve seen too many people spiral and be miserable alcoholics, to the point where being an alcoholic is almost normalized in a way. i don’t want that shit. sounds awful

[u/uncultured_swine2099]

Alternative headline: gen z is taking less of something that is bad for you.

[u/_Viva_La_Revolucion_]

[u/Random_182f2565]

Good

[u/notarealwriter]

Fuckin' lightweights!

I'm kidding of course. Well done Gen-Z, that's probably a healthy decision.

[u/Forest_Orc]

A part of it is their own fault.

At least in my neighbourhood, gentrification means big alcohol didn't renew the lease of local/neighbourhood bar/restaurant selling cheap beer to replace them by fancy/hipster bar with premium beers and cocktails costing the price of a meal.

Then indeed covid, means that gen-Z kid didn't went out to the bar after school nor the house party where they sneaked into the parents acohol cabinet (How many of us have drank our parent's 50 EUR bottle of vintage wine thinking it was some cheap stuff)

But I'd be careful with that statistic, A lot of Gen-Z is still pretty young (Late Gen-Z is like 18-20) not an age where you can afford alcohol (I couldn't at this age), and looks like gen-Alpha is back at drinking

[u/TheOriginalGuru]

I've seen first-hand what alcoholism can do to a person, so my only thought is, "Good!"

[u/In_the_name_of_ART]

As far as I know this is because people in general drink less, not only Gen Z

[u/Upper_Comment_9206]

The savings on the health care system will be astronomical if they keep that up.

[u/FeistyTechnician9609]

[u/Radion627]

I never really liked the taste of alcohol. It tasted more like medicine to me, and not the good kind.

[u/DirectionMent]

It taste like fucking ass

[u/DJblue_star]

"lost" implies that the industry already had that money but is more like their calculations were wrong, nobody took money from them

[u/NoCoyote5205]

Im a millennial and Ive stopped drinking since 2014. Just not fun or worth it. Realised when I stopped that most of my friends were just drinking buddies and Im happier for having stopped drinking and tightened my circle of friends to those who share actual interests, not just habits

[u/BleachedUnicornBHole]

Isn’t Gen Z drinking THC and vaping more?

[u/Steampson_Jake]

I mean... Shit tastes ass

[u/Winter_Gazelle_3776]

Millennial here who went sober 677 days ago after decades of drinking. Save your money for cool shit like records and therapy!

[u/DelirielDramafoot]

Yeah 830 billion?!! So more than the gdp of Argentina or Belgium. My sociology senses call bull on that. Some weird campaign by teetotaler.

[u/snakesandsparklers40]

They can't lose money they didnt have. They just aren't making as much as they did. Legal weed and nobody can afford to go out drinking as much also has a bug impact 

[u/harwarg]

Might also have to do with prices having tripled? And people dont want to spend that much money on it?

[u/Zerithane]

It’s an expensive habit that can wreck your health. Healthcare is also expensive, and so is everything else. Easy cut.

[u/deathgrowlingsheep]

Yeah, California sober

[u/SpikeB-Man]

Gen Z seem to be spending their money on Tobacco vapes. Spending on vapes for people born after 1997 is something like $260B a year 

[u/yougotttluckybabe]

And now you see why they didn’t want to legalize anything else.

[u/Performance_Fancy]

It’s also the first generation to have watermelon flavoured nicotine options so I’m not surprised they don’t have the pallet for beer or whiskey.

[u/Snaketree666]

No one has been able to afford to drink a lot over the last 4 years

[u/KyloMH]

Swapped alcohol for phone and social media addiction 

[u/Mr_7ups]

I’ve never understood the appeal of alcohol personally

- tastes like shit most of the time
- is extremely bad for you and is basically poison
- makes you feel like shit after drinking it
- overpriced
- makes your senses impaired and massively hurts your ability to think…..?

wtf is supposed to be the appeal here..?

EDIT: ok idk why so many people are crashing tf out at me. I never said you can’t enjoy drinking, I never said that not drinking is some moral high ground, and it’s fine that I don’t like it👍 if you like it then congrats, I’m not gonna be taking any supply from the shelves so more for you!

[u/JhonnyHopkins → u/Mr_7ups]

Lowers inhibitions and makes conversation flow more easily. The only reason why I like it. Doesn’t make you feel like shit if you don’t overdo it.

[u/slingoo → u/Mr_7ups]

  makes your senses impaired and massively hurts your ability to think…..?

That’s the answer 

[u/assbutt-cheek → u/Mr_7ups]

i dunno. it makes me instantly happy. i have had alcohol few times in my life, but the times i have, everything is way funnier, im in a beautiful mood and chatty. except that time i drank way too much and i passed out, but whatever, a price im willing to pay

[u/tintedhokage → u/Mr_7ups]

It's fine for you to not drink. To your points- I only buy alcohol that tastes nice, I don't drink excessively, because of that... I feel fine the day after, it's priced fair to me but depends on your finances. It's fun to occasionally feel a bit tipsy. I think you're associating alcohol with binge drinking. It can be enjoyed in moderation.

[u/ProbablyDK]

Drinking turns people into assholes. Even a nice drunk is irritating as fuck to be around.

[u/prerus]

Gen Z isn't drinking because they can't afford it

[u/Mediocre_Giraffe_542]

Half of Gen Z aren't legally allowed to drink yet so they can't buy it anyway. Would be funny if a portion of the Millenial bar is buying some for gen Z teens.

A bar on that graph for Gen α would be interesting.

[u/AI_Scraper]

Finally a social trend that I pioneered. I'm a millennial and I never liked the taste of alcohol neither do I like ''losing control'' of my body. I have seen drunk people do the dumbest shit and I don't want to be such a fool. So I never drank alcohol and 20 years ago I was the weird one ...and while I'm still weird for other reasons, it's no longer for not drinking alcohol when going out!

[u/TheB1G_Lebowski]

Good.  Either because they can't afford it (not good), don't want it, or learned from past generations mistakes.  Fuck the alcohol industry .  

[u/CaptainC00lpants]

I've never seen this much drug use 10+ years ago though. Just because they don't drink as much alcohol DOES NOT mean they're sober. 

[u/nuclearblastbeat]

"Lost" as in didnt gain previously projected earnings.

[u/Jasoncatt]

Now do cocaine.

[u/OpLeeftijd]

Gen-Xer here. I don’t drink as much as I used to, so don’t blame it all on the poor Gen-Zers. Bet you the Boomers drink even less than us.

[u/z_anonz]

they gotta start promoting for gen alpha and gen beta put alcohol in their formula milk

[u/Black_RL]

Seems about right.

Heavy cellphone use + expensive drinks + they don’t socialize that much.

[u/StrangerChameleon]

Can't lose money that wasn't yours to begin with.

[u/G-T-R-F-R-E-A-K-1-7]

Sucks to be them! Easier to get better drugs you can buy for less that give you better experiences these days.

[u/gurgelberit]

The alcohol industry hasn't lost anything. They have seriously miscalculated the amount of alcohol gen-z wanna buy, while simultaneously charging too much.

[u/Tooleater]

The alcohol industry's loss is the gaming industry's gain

[u/luttman23]

They didn't lose it, they'd have to find it first and as no one wants alcohol.

If you get drunk you end up on social media. Your mates and people you don't know bully you. If there's any future job prospects you don't want them searching your history and seeing you throw up on a bar.

[u/Outside-Inspection68]

I used to drink massively

Then it got twice as expensive in less than 10 years

So I quit

[u/customer_service_af]

It's not an alcohol issue it's the cost of living. Food and rent wins over booze.

[u/Impossible-Fig-1917]

Is Gen Z less traumatized then previous generations? What is their weed consumption?

[u/Lothleen]

Too busy playing Roblox and Minecraft to drink.

[u/Zealousideal-Ad-6231]

And anxiety is up...

[u/Ham_Coward]

Good, alcohol is literally poison.

[u/mountaindewisamazing]

It's because of Trump's tariffs and Canadian boycott

[u/Artaxeus]

Gen Z too broke to have fun

[u/Alive-Confidence-32]

the chart is missing their spending on Molly, weed, and psychedelics
edit 2: oh I forgot pumpfun trenches

edit 3: also hormones and seggs toys

edit 4: OF models

[u/critical4mindz]

I don't get it! This generation hast more reasons then any other to Drink...

[u/Soggy3Duck]

It's because it's expensive to drink out and so they just don't bother anymore

[u/Dusan117]

They are on other stuff

[u/chrissme92]

Good

[u/DreamerOfTheGlade]

I hate headlines like these. Industies aren losing x-billion they are making x-billion less profit.Alcohol industry both in EU and in USA is still making very green numbers and so are all the other induatrys that they claim whatever generation is destroying. Rich people are thriving in all industries and we arent eating them enough

[u/RandomSentientBeing]

Congrats to Gen Z!!

[u/YSunnyN]

I thought gen z smoked weed?

[u/govdove]

Yeah they’re doing weed

[u/Professional-Ad-9047]

How can you loose something you never had? you made a wrong prognosis...

[u/X4dow]

No one can afford to nowadays.

[u/RealPrinceJay]

I’ve never met someone who wasn’t happier after quitting

[u/SkeromilMatro]

Most sober , yeah for suure. They just replaced alcohol with pills and synthetics..

[u/fireantwars]

“Lost”

[u/CharAznableLoNZ]

I don't think it's just zoomers drinking less, we all are. No one can afford shit these days.

[u/meguminsupremacy]

Weed replaced it, 100%.

[u/Flat-Confection1870]

Another AI slop graph that presents exactly what it was prompted to. Funnily enough, the real IWSR actually produced an article a few months back saying that the whole zoomers not drinking thing is a myth: https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2026/07/iwsr-gen-z-moderation-myth-debunked/

[u/itsfourinthemornin]

Good on them.

I hate the terms, but I'm a millennial. I grew up with alcoholic parents, though one is now sober (hardly through choice but I digress). I watched them drink many days and nights away, spending time at the bars rather than greeting me when I got home from school and much, much worse that no child should see.

To cope with some of the things I saw and how I grew up, I reached for those exact same bottles and binge drinking culture was heavy everywhere - from adults, peers, to television, the internet. It was 'normal'. I felt awful, I looked awful and my mental was in the drain.

I'm sober now, had a few slips along the way but currently almost back to 3 years. I'll never go back.

[u/Thetallerestpaul]

Aren't a decent portion of gen z still kids?

Older people drink more than kids and buy nicer drinks than teenagers. This needs to be per capita, Vs equivalent life stage to tell you anything. It's still lower I'm sure but at least would be useful data.

[u/Artistic-Okra-2542]

they spend 87% less because they have 87% less.

[u/ExiymDev]

I'd drink at a bar if they didn't literally want $18 for 1.5 oz of liquor. I'm sorry but just cause you tapped some bitters in it with OJ doesn't make it worth the cost of an entire handle. It takes 30 seconds to mix a drink.

[u/westondeboer]

This is a stupid stat. The alcohol industry didn’t lose 830 billion. There stock price is down that. And it’s not because people drank Less it’s because of so many other factors.

[u/martintamay]

has lost vs made less than previously does have a difference

[u/GamingTaylor]

Millennials started the trend of smoking and drinking far less than their elders

[u/lordchankaknowsall]

Oh no! Anyway

[u/Elxjasonx]

34 years, dont drink, dont smoke and somehow im the problem????

[u/UwUBots]

I hate this phrasing, they didnt lose money, they made less then they expected. They aren't entitled to shit here.