Could Gen Z be giving up on abstinence?

Participating in abstain campaigns like Dry January and Sober October is now becoming less popular among Gen Z drinkers around the world, according to new data released today.

The Bevtrac survey, commissioned by the IWSR, assesses consumer behaviour all over the globe and has identified that the number of Gen Z legal drinking aged drinkers and (LDA) in the UK who reported abstaining from alcohol for a month or longer during the past six months had dropped.

Across the UK, the figures revealed that the trend among Gen Z drinkers to abstain fell from 33% in autumn 2024 to 24% in autumn 2025. An even larger drop was recorded in Australia, where monthlong abstinence over the same period among Gen Z drinkers reduced from 39% to 24%.

Declines in abstinence

Abstain campaigns such as Dry January or Sober October have been notably popular among younger drinkers over the years but declines in take-up among Gen Z has now been registered in most of the 15 markets assessed, showing a changing of the tides.

The markets included France (from 32% to 24%), Italy (from 26% to 16%) and Brazil (from 39% to 35%). In the US, the trend has also remained flat rather than declined, with a dip from 32% to 31%.

The only market to show a significant increase in monthlong abstinence among Gen Z drinkers was Mexico, which saw a gradual shift from a 31% uptake in Autumn 2024 to 35% in Autumn 2025.

Overall however, across all 15 markets combined, participation from Gen Z drinkers in such abstain campaigns fell from 30% in autumn 2024 to 28% in autumn 2025.

Also showing across all ages

The data also highlighted how the popularity of temporary abstinence of any length was also showing signs of stalling across all age groups.

For instance, in the autumn survey, 39% of all adult drinkers across all 15 markets reported engaging in temporary abstinence for one day or longer during the past six months. However, this figure is down from a recent increase, from 40% during the autumn 2024 to 41% during the spring of 2025.

Added to this, individual markets where uptake in all temporary abstinence is seen to be faltering includes the US (from 40% to 38%) and the UK (from 39% to 35%).

The gap is closing

The key takeaway from the new data is the fact that after significant increases over the past two years, the Gen Z drinking rate has “stabilised” and is “gradually converging with the drinking rate of the general population”.

It was also revealed alongside this that in autumn 2025, 74% of Gen Z respondents reported drinking in the last six months, up slightly from 73% recorded in spring 2025.

The analysts noted that, while not a significant change, the Gen Z beverage alcohol participation rate remains “substantially higher” than spring 2023, when only 66% reported drinking in the past six months.

What the industry is learning from this is that the gap between drinking rates for Gen Z LDA and all adults (recorded as 77% in autumn 2025) now stands at just 3%.

This statistic is down from the 9% gap recorded in the spring 2023 survey, and is the smallest gap ever to be recorded by Bevtrac.

Which countries are marking the change? The UK (up to 79% in autumn 2025 from 76% in spring 2025 and 66% in spring 2023) and Taiwan (up to 78% in autumn 2025 from 67% in spring 2025 and 61% in spring 2023).

Millennials continue to support the sector

Looking at the evidence, Millennials continue to remain the generation most engaged with alcoholic drinks, but several moderation trends are now emerging.

For instance, during autumn 2025, 81% of Millennials reported drinking in the last six months, down from 83% in spring 2025. The analysts noted that this is the lowest rate of participation in drinking alcohol among Millennials ever recorded by Bevtrac.

Additionally, Millennials have also reported drinking a declining number of alcoholic drinks categories per occasion. Across all 15 markets, the number of categories consumed by Millennial drinkers at their last occasion dropped from an average of 2.8 in autumn 2023 to 1.8 in autumn 2025.

US Millennials choose to drink at home

The data also flagged how American Millennials are also increasingly likely to drink at home rather than choose to go out to drink.

In fact, the number of Millennial drinkers in the US who reported their most recent occasion at a pub, bar, nightclub or restaurant dropped from 41% in autumn 2024 to 36% in autumn 2025.

Speaking about the findings, IWSR president and managing Director Marten Lodewijks said: “Temporary abstinence appears to be less central to moderation strategies than it once was. This is especially the case among Gen Z LDA+ drinkers, who have always been its most enthusiastic adopters.”

Lodewijks explained: “Moderation is still an important trend across the entire beverage alcohol industry, but performative abstinence periods are less of the driving force they once were. Instead, consumers moderate by drinking less often and, when they do drink, they tend to drink less. This is partly driven by shifting attitudes and social trends, but it’s clear that declining disposable income is also a key factor.”

The gap is expected to shrink further

According to Lodewijks: “Gen Z LDA+ continues to converge with the general population when it comes to drinking habits. We expect the already small gap to shrink further as more of Gen Z enters the full-time workforce.”

He added: “American Millennial drinkers are becoming more likely to stay home with friends and family to drink than to go out to bars, clubs and restaurants. This is likely being driven by wider affordability issues, but, with the oldest Millennials in our survey turning 44, it may also just be the result of entering middle age.”

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