Alcohol consumption in Utah
Claims
"Despite the fact that Utah ranks 48th nationally in alcohol consumption, 'Utahns consumed 33 percent more alcohol in 1977 than in 1970, compared to a national consumption growth of only 22 percent.'"
- Michael Cranford, Why I'm Not a Mormon
- Rich Branch, Mormonism and the Family: How Much Is That Family In The Window?, The Watchman Expositor 6(10)
"Utah has a very high consumption of alcohol on a per capita basis."
- Derick S. Hartshorn, Bearing the Testimony of Truth, Saints Alive in Jesus
"Increase in alcohol consumption is growing...."
- Waana, Reasons Why The Mormon Church Is Not True, posted on Recovery from Mormonism, 5/18/2002
Does Utah have a high rate of alcohol consumption?
Figure 1 shows the alcohol consumption rates for Utah and the United States. Rates are the number of gallons of ethanol consumed per resident age 14 and older. Since 1970, Utah's rate has consistently been about 40% lower than the national average.
Figure 1. Per capita alcohol consumption rates, 1970-2000
How does Utah's rate compare to the rest of the country?
Table 1 shows how Utah's rate compares to the rest of the states. A rank of 1 indicates the highest rate.
Table 1. State alcohol consumption rates for the United States 1991-2000
| Year |
High |
Average |
Low |
| 1991 |
4.31 NV |
2.30 |
1.34 UT |
| 1992 |
4.30 NH |
2.30 |
1.33 UT |
| 1993 |
4.38 NH |
2.23 |
1.28 UT |
| 1994 |
4.13 NH |
2.18 |
1.24 UT |
| 1995 |
4.12 NH |
2.15 |
1.21 UT |
| 1996 |
4.13 NH |
2.16 |
1.24 UT |
| 1997 |
4.04 NH |
2.14 |
1.25 UT |
| 1998 |
3.98 NH |
2.14 |
1.20 UT |
1999 |
4.01 NH |
2.16 |
1.27 UT |
| 2000 |
4.00 NH |
2.18 |
1.27 UT |
From 1970 to 2000, Utah always ranked in the bottom three states, and has ranked last every year since 1980.
The following map shows how alcohol consumption rates vary across the country.
Figure 2. State alcohol consumption rates, 1996-2000 average
Did Utah's rate increase in the 1970s?
It can be seen in Figure 1 that Utah has followed the national trend in that alcohol consumption increased during the 1970s, then declined until the mid-1990s. Table 2 shows the rates for Utah and the United States for selected years and the percent change from the 1970 rate. Utah's rate increased faster than the national average, but even at its peak, Utah's rate was the second lowest in the country.
Table 2. Alcohol consumption rates for the United States and Utah, selected years
|
1970 |
1977 |
Peak |
2000 |
| United States |
2.52 |
2.64 (+5%) |
2.76 (+10%) in 1980-81 |
2.18 (-13%) |
| Utah |
1.44 |
1.70 (+18%) |
1.75 (+22%) in 1979 |
1.27 (-12%) |
Sources
Alcohol consumption rates are from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health.
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