Link: https://thehub.ca/2026/03/05/canadians-are-drinking-the-least-amount-of-alcohol-in-the-last-20-years-on-average-statistics-canada/

Archived link

...

For the fourth year in a row, the Canadian per capita consumption of alcohol has fallen, hitting a 20-year low of an average of 6.8 litres of alcohol per person according to newly released Statistics Canada data for 2024-25. That’s a drop of 1.5 litres from a peak of 8.3 litres of alcohol consumed per person, back at the start of the pandemic in 2020.

Alcohol historian and Carleton University professor Rod Phillips believes there are several factors influencing Canadians to hit the bottle much more infrequently.

“Drinking has declined among younger cohorts in particular, and studies suggest that one reason is an acceptance that alcohol is unhealthy,” said Phillips. “There’s a vigorous debate about how much is unhealthy, but it’s fair to say that there are no health benefits from drinking alcohol. To this extent, abstaining is the healthiest option, and that message seems to have taken hold among younger age-groups more than older drinkers.”

In 2023, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) released a study and guidance report that found no amount of alcohol is completely safe for health. The buzzkill report found that even three to six drinks per week presented a moderate health risk and increased cancer risk (especially breast and colon cancers).

“Health is not just a matter of the cancers and cardiac diseases linked to alcohol consumption, but also a sense of wellbeing—avoiding hangovers and the feeling of tiredness that often follow drinking,” Phillips added.

...

The alcohol historian has also noticed a cultural shift where many gatherings no longer include tippling, but instead more and more teetotaler attendees.

“I think a non-alcoholic culture has developed. Many people no longer think of alcohol as a precondition of socializing and having fun,” Phillips told The Hub. “Look at the early morning dance parties, without any alcohol, becoming popular in Europe.”

...

Phillips believes another explanation for reduced alcohol consumption is affordability.

“People are spending less on alcohol and treating it as an unnecessary expense within the universe of commodities and services competing for purchase. At the same time, sales of non-alcoholic beverages are robust and growing…” he added.

...

Not this Canadian.

It's because weeds far far better for decompressing after work or when out with friends. We need to allow cannabis drinks at bars and shit.

U and me both.

Boomers drink less because they're geriatric.

Millenials are getting older. Many are on anti depressant/anxiety medication. Alcohol is a depresaant, and leaves people feeling unwell and tired. So they drink less.

Gen-Z don't drink because they can't afford it.

The thing is, smoking is really bad for your health. Wether it's weed or tobacco. It leaves tar in your lungs and affects your cardiovascular system, increasing the risk of heart related problems.

Oils, or edibles take a couple of hours to start having an effect and it lasts a lot longer. You basically have to plan your day around it.

I think I now drink less than one time per month and I don't ever go out in bars anymore.

Looks like injection is the best option.

Into the eyeballs it goes!

You lads up for sharing a two four at the cabin this weekend?

True but how about allowing vaping? I see it banned everywhere tobacco is but a THC vape has no nicotine and there is nothing but water vapour on the exhale (so no issue on second hand)

I know little of this stuff so my sentence above may be factually incorrect

yeah, I have a manual vaporizer powered by a small torch lighter, nothing is burned and it doesn't leave behind an overwhelming scent. Vaporizers, maybe small ones would be great at a bar or otherwise.

People who grew up watching boomers drink away all the problems, and how ineffective that is, don't want to drink? Colour me shocked!

It's also crazy expensive to drink, especially going out for drinks. It's just not worth the cost to do, the money is better spent elsewhere.

Canadians are rawdogging the end of civilisation. Bad ass!

6.8 L per year? Per month? Ffs

Oh good point! I forgot about those lol

This isn't even true these days; there's fast acting gummies, drinks, and edibles that hit just as fast as an alcoholic drink 🤷‍♂️

Sure, not like people are better educated about the health risks of alcohol, or anything.

And cuz weed is better. Source: me

I still don't think vaping in public is a great idea. Vape "smoke" still does have a smell until it dissipates (your lungs aren't a perfect THC filter), and if you're in the room with someone you would definitely notice. At least it doesn't stick around for too long after like actual smoke.

nothing but water vapour on the exhale

Aerasolized with THC/CBD, for which second hand intake is a problem, and thus should be banned indoors.

Dry herb vaping alleviates this issue.

really? I thought most of it was consumed by the vaper...

I assumed any left over would be too small to matter

Well, I'm speaking from experience. So, I dunno. Maybe you and I have had a different experience.

lol! Yeah, that too.

We're not even good at taking in oxygen efficiently with our breath. An inhale of air has about 21% oxyen. An exhale contains 17%. That's less than a 15% utilization.

Anyway, some data on the cannabis side:

The aerosols exhaled by a cannabis vaper were confirmed to be a secondary emission source in an indoor environment; non-smokers were exposed to these aerosols via respiratory and dermal pathways.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8148323/

Weed is definitely better than alcohol, but I noticed many Gen Z that are skipping vices all together, unless its nicotine and tobacco.

thanks for the info and link!

Fresh baby at home gotta take care of. Otherwise I'd be up for shitfacing.

Congratulations my friend!

🤗

Never said it wasn't, you're right. Personally I prefer a bong, nothing else does it quite like a good bowl or a fat dab.

Again proof the flat earthers can never accept, if we lived in a dome we would all be high.

This is the answer. Well done dude. Thanks. Although some Millenials just choose health or a busy lifestyle. But your do right about the psychiatric prescriptions part.

I doubt it, this is some "everyone's quitting social media" nonsense, people don't stop addictive things they can still afford.

You had centuries of people drinking, and the idea it stopping because people realized it was bad for their health is probably nonsense.

We instead have a USSR style sin tax that distorts the free market, as Carney is also raising alcohol on taxes as Trudeau did, so the poor can't drink while the rich continue as normal.

https://globalnews.ca/news/9576344/canada-alcohol-tax-increase-explainer/

...and Gen X, once again, doesn't exist.

As with any drug it depends on amount ingested. 1 drink a week is probably way better than bonging it all day, every week.

Per day?

It is 6.8 L of pure alochol over the year. Obviously not consumed as pure alcohol, just a way of including all types of drinks.

Not me

That’s not a helpful comparison, though. Casual weed use is better than casual alcohol use. Alcohol abuse is more widespread than weed abuse.

Of course if you compare the extreme for each substance results can vary, like drinking 10 cans of pop every day is worse than using an opioid once in a lifetime.

You basically have to plan your day around it.

Usually hits in less than an hour and mostly gone by the third hour. Not really that hard to “plan”, and actually easier to manage than booze

Not me either. COVID started a habit that never ended... heh.

Exactly, it is amount. Too much water in one day can kill you. So saying alcohol is worse than weed with no context on amount is worthless sentence.

So saying alcohol is worse than weed with no context on amount is worthless sentence.

Only if you’re a bit obtuse. You can just prepend “alcohol is worse than weed“ with “(for me and most people, considering a very average dose on each)” because that’s what people mean

It's not that you don't exist. Maybe it's that your generation still drinks just as much or maybe you're not part of the "young" people anymore. (I'm sorry, i know that's hard to hear.)

That's not my experience.

When I take oils, it takes around 2 hours for the effects to hit and then it lasts for about 5 hours until it's completely gone. That's a whole 7 hours. So yeah, you kinda have to plan around that.

While with alcohol, I can have one drink with a meal and barely feel anything. Or two to have a light effect that'll be gone within an hour. So no, it's not harder with alcohol. Quite the opposite. For me, at least.

Everyone's body metabolized things differently I guess.

I can have one drink with a meal and barely feel anything

And if you eat a third of a 10mg gummy?

Don’t take oils directly then, use oils to bake a giant batch of brownies

Alcohol is so expensive, I get why consumption is down.

Many don't realize that though. I have had this argument before, with people telling me smoking a joint daily is fine but a drink a week is not. Sure alcohol is a poison you have to filter, but good luck with lung cancer also

Homebrew remains cheap and easy. Apple juice is annoyingly expensive to get, though, for my cider. :(