It's 5 o'clock somewhere... Baby Boomers and Alcohol Consumption

Recently the Washington Post published an article comparing generational alcohol intake. Teenagers and college-age people drink less while this group pours another round opens with this observation "[e]xperts on alcohol abuse have found one demographic group that’s drinking at an alarming rate. Not teenagers. Not college-age people. It’s baby boomers." The first few paragraphs of the article focus on younger individuals and then turns to Boomers, noting that it's "been known for half a century is that baby boomers tend to like alcohol more than the “silent generation” that preceded them."

Consider this:

"Researchers see a steady rise in alcohol use and binge drinking — as well as what’s known as Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), an umbrella term for mild, moderate and severe abuse of alcohol —  in the 65-plus demographic. Between 2005 and 2014, the percentage of older Americans who reported engaging in past-month binge drinking (defined as women consuming four or more drinks in about two hours, and men consuming five or more) increased from 12.5 percent to 14.9 percent ... [and] [t]he increase in drinking among older Americans is most pronounced among people with greater levels of education and income, and among women.... At continuing care communities, alcohol is typically available as a social lubricant for the majority of residents who haven't graduated to assisted living...."

according to one expert quoted in the article.

One thing that is implicated in this is the perception or impression that moderate alcohol consumption is healthy. "[M]any boomers have embraced the notion that moderate drinking is good for them, compared to abstaining. The evidence there is mixed. A number of studies have shown a reduction in heart attacks among moderate drinkers. But a new study published in the Lancet last week showed no overall improvement in life expectancy among people who had one drink a day compared to those who abstained, and a decrease in life expectancy with any additional drinking. The study's authors concluded that the reduction in heart attacks was offset by other health risks."