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Between the Huberman Lab and Gen Z’s rejection of their parents’ ways, sobriety, or something a little less boozy, has really taken hold lately.

Even the fellas in the land of the Guinness are putting away less booze, somehow.

The BBC reported how bar manager Barry Reilly noticed some significant changes in attitudes to alcohol in his time pulling pints in the town of Carlingford in County Louth.

“You would get boys coming in on a Saturday for two pints before going and playing a football match, you don’t get that now,” he told BBC News NI. “People are more health conscious.

True as it seems, data shows people in the Republic of Ireland are drinking less alcohol. A report by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) that calculated the 2023 average level of consumption found drinking alcohol in the country is down by almost one-third over the past two decades.

Since the peak of 2001, the average per adult alcohol consumption has declined by 31%, according to the report authored by economist and associate professor emeritus at Dublin City University Anthony Foley.

Mr Reilly’s belief that people have become more health conscious is just one theory shared on the streets of Carlingford for why consumption has been dropping lately.

Other theories suggest work commitments, diet and health, price and the option of non-alcoholic alternatives are contributing to why people are potentially drinking less alcohol.

Miriam said while she drank “a bottle a wine a week” with her partner, she saw more people drinking less.

“Our son drinks non-alcoholic beers for health benefits,” she said.

Beer continues to reign supreme as the nation’s favourite drink, dominating the charts with 42.9% of all consumption in 2023. Despite a slight dip from the 43.5% recorded in 2022, it holds its crown firmly, proving that nothing can quite quench our collective thirst like a cold one. Wine is the second most popular at 28.3%, spirits rank as the third with 22.6% and cider accounted for 6.2%.

“Overall, the long-term decline in alcohol consumption over the past two decades indicates that Irish adults are enjoying beer, wine and spirits more moderately,” a DIGI spokesperson said.

“We are not just consuming less alcohol, we are consuming differently with the rise in low or zero alcohol product consumption evident.”

Sales of non-alcoholic beer grew last year by 18%, as production surged by 50%, in response to rising consumer demand, according to a recent report from Ibec group Drinks Ireland. This increase in the non-alcoholic beverages market in the Republic of Ireland is catching up with European averages and global trends.

Mr Reilly also said he had noticed an increase in the sales of non-alcoholic beers and consumer demand for them. Aidan Baker, who also runs a bar in Carlingford, also said he had seen more people drinking non-alcoholic beer and he saw that as an opportunity.

“We are making our own non-alcoholic lager,” he said.

The times are changing. One might say that COVID was a real health kicker, pushing everyone to embrace how health is true wealth.

[source:bbc]