Here's a Moderate Amount of Data About Today's Moderate Drinking

I’m still waiting for a public-service ad with the headline, “Sobriety—America’s Silent Killer.” A mass of evidence has accumulated in recent years to indicate that moderate drinking can be good for one’s health. But have Americans paid any heed? A Gallup survey yields a mixed verdict.

For starters, 38 percent of the adults polled said they abstain altogether from alcohol—a proportion that has varied little in recent years. Even among people who do indulge, 36 percent of the women and 25 percent of the men reported having a grand total of zero drinks in the week before being queried.