8216;Americans appear to be drinking less8217;

In addition to an overall decline in drinking, Dr Yuqing Zhang of Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues found that Americans are drinking significantly less beer and more wine, while intake of hard liquor has remained largely unchanged.

The results also show that younger people born later in the 20th century drink more moderately than older people and that alcohol consumption tends to decline as people age. The number of people describing themselves as non-drinkers also increased markedly with age, according to the researchers.

In the latest issue of The American Journal of Medicine, Zhang and colleagues say the findings 8220;may be considered encouraging in many ways.8221; The average alcohol consumption has decreased among individuals born more recently; the percentage of the population exhibiting 8220;moderate8221; drinking8221; has increased steadily; and the percentage of 8220;heavy drinkers8221; has decreased over time.8221;

8220;While these data suggest the development of more favorable patterns of alcohol consumption over the latter part of the 20th century, they also show that, at the same time, the cumulative incidence of alcohol use disorders has not shown a decrease, and continuing efforts at preventing them are warranted,8221; they emphasize.