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Generation Z (Gen Z), born between 1997 and 2012, is increasingly abstaining from participating in abstinence campaigns like Dry January and Sober October. This is shown by data from a survey conducted by the market analysis company International Wine and Spirits Record (IWSR) of 26,000 consumers. In the 15 countries studied, the willingness to abstain from alcohol for a month or longer decreased from 30 percent in autumn 2024 to 28 percent in autumn 2025. Respondents from Gen Z were surveyed at an age where it is legally permitted to drink alcohol.
In the UK, the share of temporarily abstinent Gen Z consumers fell from 33 percent in autumn 2024 to 24 percent in autumn 2025. In Australia, the willingness to abstain for one month decreased from 39 to 24 percent during the same period, in France from 32 to 24 percent, in Italy from 26 to 16 percent, and in Brazil from 39 to 35 percent. In the USA, the willingness to abstain remained almost stable. The only state with a significant increase in one-month abstinence was Mexico, rising from 31 to 35 percent.
The share of adult consumers in the overall population of the 15 states who have abstained from alcohol for at least one day or longer in the past six months also decreased from 41 percent in spring 2025 to 39 percent in autumn.
According to IWSR, the most important finding from the new data is that the consumption behavior of Gen Z is now approaching that of the overall population. In autumn 2025, 74 percent of Gen Z respondents reported having consumed alcohol in the past six months. In spring 2023, it was only 66 percent. For all adults, this figure is now at 77 percent. The data show that the generation born between 1981 and 1996, also known as Millennials, consumes the most alcoholic beverages, although with slight declines.
(al; Image: 123rf)
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