As students return to campus, the latest data challenges the idea that today's young adults are the most cautious drinkers in living memory. Figures from drinks industry analysts and NHS England point to a more divided picture: many young people don't drink at all, while a significant minority drink at levels that put them at risk.
IWSR, the drinks industry analysts, track drinking through a twice-yearly Bevtrac consumer survey. In July 2026 they reported that 76% of UK Gen Z adults of legal drinking age had drunk alcohol in the past six months, up from 66% three years earlier. IWSR's president described the idea of Gen Z as the "generation of moderation" as "conclusively debunked." IWSR's December 2025 data also showed that the share of UK Gen Z who had gone a month or longer without alcohol in the past six months fell from 33% to 24% in a year.
NHS England's Health Survey for England 2024, published in January 2026, found that 16-to-24-year-olds have...
