Illustration by Jamie Douglas
From pouring “liquid courage” or offering the “hair of the dog” to announcing, “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere,” socially acceptable invitations to imbibe are legion. However, spurred by a slew of new information on alcohol’s role in short- and long-term health concerns, sobriety — or at least mindful drinking — might soon replace spirits as the way to end a long day.
Sobering Statistics
Although overall alcohol consumption has remained relatively consistent in the U.S. since 1988, alcohol-related deaths have skyrocketed in more recent years. Since 2018, Virginia has seen a 10% increase in alcohol consumption but a 50% increase in alcohol-related deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The number of deaths associated with alcohol has increased substantially over the last decade, particularly during the pandemic,” says Dr. Michael Miles, director at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Alcohol Research Center. “The number of deaths from alcohol are much greater than from opioids, for example.”
The VCU Alcohol Research Center, one of 20 such centers around the country funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, is working to map the networks of genes contributing to alcohol use disorder. Alcoholism and alcohol abuse are a major public health issue contributing to 88,000 deaths a year and an estimated $249 billion in lost productivity, health care expenses and crime.
But a glass or two of red wine every day is good for you, right? It lowers your risk from coronary disease, doesn’t it?
No, says the World Health Organization. In a statement posted last January in The Lancet Public Health, WHO flatly stated that “when it comes to alcohol consumption, there is no safe amount that does not affect health. Alcohol causes at least seven types of cancer … which means that any beverage containing alcohol, regardless of its price and quality, poses a risk of developing cancer.”
“Does that mean having one drink on a weekend is going to give you cancer? Absolutely not,” Miles says. “Over the course of a 70-year lifetime, would it increase your risk for coming up with a particular type of cancer? It might to some degree. It depends upon other factors as well. So, that’s the tradeoff we all go through in our lives.
“People can make a choice in their own lives. If they decide they enjoy the social aspects of alcohol, like periodically with dinner or with family and friends, that’s one thing. But they need to know, particularly if they are drinking more excessively, that it does have a risk for certain diseases.”
A Demographic Shift
It appears that young adults are getting the message.
According to a long-term measure of alcohol consumption from Gallup, some 60% of Americans consider themselves “occasional drinkers,” a statistic that hasn’t budged much in four decades but has reached a high in the last four years, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the demographics of drinkers are shifting. According to the same poll, fewer than 4 out of 10 young adults (ages 18-34) currently consider themselves regular drinkers; 20 years ago, members of that age group were the most likely to be regular drinkers. At the same time, older adults, particularly those 55 and older, have gone from being the least likely to the most likely to drink regularly.
The perception of drinking has changed, too. According to 2024 Gallup research, 52% of young adults believe that even moderate drinking is bad for your health, compared to 34% five years prior. There has been a 13% increase in middle-aged adults who believe any type of drinking is bad for you, but opinions are largely unchanged among those 55 and older.
“In general, people have become more aware of the adverse effects of alcohol on their health over the last number of years and are moderating their drinking more,” Dr. Miles says.
The statistics bear out on the street, according to Jody Sidle, the owner of Point 5, a spirit-free bottle shop in Carytown. “Obviously not across the board, but we are seeing younger people opting not to drink as much as previous generations,” Sidle says. “The younger generation is more health conscious, not as interested in drinking. They seem to want to stay more present.”
“Staying present” is important to a generation whose indiscretions are splashed across social media. According to market research from creative agency Red Brick Road, 49% of today’s teens and 20-somethings have admitted that their social media image is constantly on their minds. Knowing that their lives are on display for their friends, family and employers has led 76% of Gen Z adults to believe it’s important to be in control of all aspects of their lives, according to Red Brick Road — an inclination that dovetails with findings from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism showing that growing up in uncertain and acrimonious times has made this cohort of kids more risk averse.
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Point 5 bottle shop in Carytown offers zero-proof tequila, whiskey and other buzz-free libations. (Photo courtesy Point 5)
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Photo courtesy Point 5
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Photo courtesy Point 5
New Options
Does pairing sobering science with health consciousness and risk aversion translate into teetotaling young adults? Not necessarily. While Gen Zers and millennials have demonstrably reduced their alcohol intake, they’re not forgoing intoxication entirely.
Replacing alcohol with marijuana — behavior known as “California sober” — has taken off as more states have legalized marijuana and cannabis-infused products. Marijuana use has almost doubled in adults ages 18-34 since 2013, when Gallup first started asking Americans about their usage, rising 11 points to 25% between 2021 and 2023 alone. Usage among middle-aged adults has grown from 4% to 17%.
“Weed is readily available, and it’s cheaper,” says Teryl Main, a bartender at West Coast Provisions in Short Pump, voicing common reasons for choosing cannabis over alcohol.
“You can just put it in a smoothie. Weed is not spinach, but it’s not the poison that alcohol is,” says Becca Hyman, a fellow bartender at West Coast Provisions.
Many believe cannabis is a healthier, and therefore more acceptable, choice than alcohol. For regular marijuana users, cannabis has been linked to a 1.37% increase in the likelihood of developing schizophrenia, according to a 2017 study reported in Molecular Psychiatry, but those chances increase for adolescents who are regular users. However, consuming alcohol over long periods of time can lead to a long list of health problems, from liver disease to heart and digestive issues, pancreatitis, erectile dysfunction, and infertility. According to Healthline, a health information website, “Weed seems to have fewer long-term risks than alcohol, but again, there’s a huge discrepancy in the amount of research on weed compared with alcohol.”
No matter their age, most Americans haven’t turned to marijuana, but declining a doobie doesn’t always mean embracing complete abstinence. A “sober-curious” lifestyle can involve drinking or even drug use; the goal isn’t strict sobriety so much as changing the dominance of drinking in social interactions, particularly among youth. The sober curious may be concerned about the health or social impacts of alcohol without wanting to give up drinking altogether.
“A big portion of our customers are sober curious,” Sidle says of patrons at Point 5. “They are playing with the idea. They are trying different things, and they are seeing how it sits. How is it going to impact and change their lifestyles? How is it going to fit in?”
“Eighty percent of our shoppers are drinkers, and they are trying to be more mindful about their drinking,” Sidle adds. “They are looking for alternatives. They still want to have something more complex and delicious in the evening, but something that doesn’t have alcohol. They just want to switch it up.”
To that end, Sidle stocks dozens of varieties of nonalcoholic mixers meant to replicate the experience of spirits such as gin, bourbon and tequila without the intoxication. They can be used in traditional recipes or mixed with bitters and shrubs to create elevated nonalcoholic craft cocktails well beyond the typical “mocktail.” Sidle also carries ranges of nonalcoholic wine and beer, as well as canned cocktails infused with cannabis, CBD and botanicals such as mushrooms.
And Point 5 is far from the only local source for the sober curious. Ceremony Dry Bottle Shop has locations inside the Painted Tree Boutiques in Midlothian and Glen Allen, and well-known bottle shops including Corks & Kegs and Barrel Thief carry nonalcoholic wine. KavaClub’s beverages, made from the root of the kava plant, “offer a calming experience without impairing cognitive function or motor skills.” Breweries and distilleries such as Three Notch’d and Virago Spirits offer nonalcoholic options, too.
Some bars and restaurants are leaning in on the sober-curious movement, incorporating faux cocktails into their menus and offering entertainment alternatives, such as group games and community-focused events, that take the attention away from drinking without losing the social element of the bar. The Park, which offers duckpin bowling and virtual golf, and Bingo Beer Co., which has arcade games and skeeball, offer more than just cold brews and craft cocktails.
So, while it may be 5 o’clock somewhere, that no longer mandates a tall glass of something strong, as socializing without swilling gives new meaning to a common toast: Here’s to your health.
