Number five on average, Americans have been consuming more alcohol in recent years, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, also called NIAA. They have data going back to 1970. In 2021, the most recent year for which data is available, the average American aged 21 or older consumed 2.83 gallons of pure alcohol. Americans are drinking less beer and more wine than they used to. That according to the NIAA. Since 1970