According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), about 85.6% of people aged 18 and older reported that they drank alcohol at some point in their lifetime; with 69.5% reporting that they drank in the past year and 54.3% reporting that they drank in the past month.

Binge drinking, defined as drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion for men or four or more drinks for women, is a significant concern. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 25.6% of adults aged 18 and older reported binge drinking in the past month, and 6.3% reported heavy drinking (binge drinking on five or more days in the past month).

Alcohol contributes to a significant number of deaths each year in the USA. According to the CDC, alcohol is responsible for approximately 95,000 deaths annually, making it the third-leading preventable cause of death in the country

Despite efforts to reduce drunk driving, it remains a serious problem. In 2019, the CDC reported that 10,142 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for 28% of all traffic-related deaths in the USA.

Long-term alcohol consumption can have serious health consequences, including liver disease, cardiovascular problems, and certain types of cancer, mental health disorders, and alcohol use disorder (AUD). According to the NIAAA, an estimated 14.1 million adults aged 18 and older had AUD in 2019.