People make a wide variety of choices about drinking, including whether to drink at all, and how much to consume if they do decide to drink. Here are some general trends in the United States.

How many American adults (ages 18 and over) drank in the past year and how much did they drink?
(Source: Wave 1 NESARC, conducted by NIAAA's Laboratory of Epidemiology and Biometry)
  Women Men
Percentage who had at least one drink 59.6% 71.8%
Percentage who have never drank -- lifetime abstainers 22.5% 11.6%
Percentage of binge drinkers -- drinkers who consumed 4+/5+ (women/men) drinks within 2 hours at least once 28.8% 43.1%
How many drinks did drinkers usually consume on a drinking day?
1 drink 48.2% 28.7%
2 drinks 29.9% 29.0%
3 or more drinks 21.9% 42.3%

 

How frequently did American adults (ages 18 and over) drink in the past year?
(Source: Wave 2 NESARC, conducted by NIAAA's Laboratory of Epidemiology and Biometry)
Percentage who drank: Women Men
Daily 2.45% 5.78%
Nearly every day 2.39% 4.98%
3-4 times a week 5.55% 10.00%
2 times a week 5.82% 10.46%
Once a week 6.77% 10.33%
2-3 ties a month 8.27% 9.55%
Once a month 7.19% 6.72%
7-11 times in the past year 4.44% 3.51%
3-6 times in the past year 9.26% 5.67%
1-2 times in the past year 8.73% 4.91%
Never in the past year (former drinker or lifetime abstainer) 39.13% 28.09%