UT: Report says Utah has lowest alcohol consumption per capita in country
By Hunter Geisel
February 11, 2019
Apparently, Utah has the lowest alcohol consumption per capita in the country, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
According to a April 2018 surveillance report from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the state of Utah has the lowest overall apparent consumption of alcohol per capita in the United States.
In the report, the NIAAA studied the trends of alcohol consumption across the nation, with findings based on sales data collected from the Alcohol Epidemiologic Data System (AEDS) from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, along with data from the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association and reports produced by beverage industry sources from 1977 to 2016.
Population data from the U.S. Census Bureau was used as denominators to calculate per capita rates.
From this report, this is where Utah ranked among beer, wine, spirits and total consumption:
- Beer – 51st
- Wine – 48th
- Spirits – 50th
- Total – 51st
These were the states with the highest consumption per capita in the four previously mentioned categories:
- Beer – New Hampshire
- Wine – Idaho
- Spirits – New Hampshire
- Total – New Hampshire
Image: https://kutv.com/resources/media/f59f4b42-ac28-4dbe-8473-6ee032be1a98-medium16x9_AlcoholPurchasingbyStateTiwtterviaboknowsdata.png?1549897883476
Alcohol Purchasing by State
The NIAAA stated that the report, like previous ones, is intended to provide updated alcohol information for policymakers, healthcare providers, researchers and others concerned about alcohol issues, such as alcohol abuse and alcoholism.
These were the overall key findings from the report:
- Per capita consumption of ethanol from all alcoholic beverages combined in 2016 was 2.35 gallons, representing a 0.9 percent increase from 2.33 gallons in 2015.
- Between 2015 and 2016, changes in overall per capita consumption of ethanol included increases in 33 states, decreases in 12 states (including Utah), and no changes in five states and the District of Columbia.
MAP: https://kutv.com/resources/media/1eedcfcd-edf8-46eb-a1a4-36e68c6d736c-medium16x9_AlcoholConsumptionIncreasesandDecreasesNIAAA.png?1549897888133
Utah has the lowest apparent alcohol consumption per capita in the country, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (Map: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)
- Analysis of overall per capita alcohol consumption by U.S. Census region between 2015 and 2016 indicated an increase of 1.3 percent in the Northeast, 0.4 percent in the Midwest, 1.3 percent in the South, and 1.7 percent in the West (the region where Utah is located).
- Healthy People 2020 set the national objective for per capita annual alcohol consumption at no more than 2.1 gallons. Per capita consumption would need to decrease by 2.8 percent each year for the next four years to achieve this goal.
- In 2016, the overall per capita annual alcohol consumption level was more than 10 percent above target (greater than 2.31 gallons) in 29 states and the District of Columbia, 10 percent or less above target (greater than 2.10–2.31 gallons) in 12 states, 10 percent below target (1.89–2.10 gallons) in five states, and more than 10 percent below target (less than 1.89 gallons) in four states (including Utah).
MAP: https://kutv.com/resources/media/750f6dda-677d-4cb8-99aa-b1b1ff826ff4-medium16x9_AlcoholConsumptionbyGallonNIAAA.png?1549897877898
Utah has the lowest apparent alcohol consumption per capita in the country, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (Map: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)
To read the entire report, visit pubs.niaaa.nih.gov.