The following data about alcohol use is taken from a 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health:
The image above shows age in years on the X axis and the percentage using in the past month on the Y axis. There are 14 age categories, percentages are shown for each age category for any past month alcohol use. Percentages are also shown for each age category for binge alcohol use and for heavy use.
Each age category is divided into 3 sections corresponding to 3 types of alcohol use: (1) current alcohol use, (2) binge alcohol use, and (3) heavy alcohol use.
General Statistics about Alcohol Use in America:
- More than half (52.1%) of Americans ages 12 or older reported being current drinkers of alcohol , similar to the 2011 rate (51.8%). This equates to an estimated 135.5 million alcohol drinkers in 2012.
- Nearly one quarter (23%) of persons ages 12 or older were binge alcohol drinkers in the 30 days prior to the survey. This equates to about 59.7 million people.
- Heavy drinking was reported by 6.5% of the population, or 17 million people.
Current Alcohol Use in America, by age:
- 2.2% among persons aged 12 or 13
- 11.1% of persons aged 14 or 15
- 24.8% of 16 or 17 year olds
- 45.8% of those aged 18 to 20
- 69.2% of 21 to 25 year olds These estimates were similar to the rates reported in 2011
Binge Alcohol Use in America, by age:
- 0.9% among 12 or 13 year olds
- 5.4% among 14 or 15 year olds
- 15% among 16 or 17 year olds
- 30.5% among persons aged 18 to 20
- 45.1% among those aged 21 to 25
Rates of Alcohol Use in America, by age:
- The prevalence of current, binge, and heavy alcohol use was lower among adults aged 65 or older than among all other adult age groups
- Rates of binge alcohol use was 0.9% among 12 or 13 year olds, 5.4 percent among 14 or 15 year olds, 15.0 percent among 16 or 17 year olds, 30.5 percent among persons aged 18 to 20, and peaked at 45.1 percent among those aged 21 to 25. These rates were similar to those in 2011 (1.1, 5.7, 15.0, 31.2, and 45.4 percent, respectively).
- Heavy alcohol use was reported by 12.7% of people aged 18 to 25
- Binge drinking among people aged 65 or older was 8.2% in 2012, and the rate of heavy drinking was 2.0 percent.
- Alcohol use among youths aged 12 to 17 was 12.9%. Youth binge and heavy drinking rates were 7.2% and 1.3%, respectively.
Alcohol Use in America, by gender:
- An estimated 56.5% of males ages 12 or older were current drinkers, higher than the rate for females which is 47.9%
- However, among youths aged 12 to 17, the percentage of males who were current drinkers (12.6%) was similar to the rate for females (13.2%)
- Among young adults aged 18 to 25, an estimated 62.9% of males and 57.5% of females were current drinkers. In this age group, 45.8% of males and 33.2% of females reported binge drinking in 2012.
- The rate of binge drinking among males ages 18 to 25 was lower in 2012 than from 2002 to 2010. Rates for females in this age group, however, were similar to the rates in the years from 2002 to 2011.
