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Per capita alcohol consumption is the most commonly estimated measure of alcohol use trends over time. It is best used as a comparison with state or national trends to give context to the measure.
- Per capita gallons of ethanol (pure alcohol) consumed annually in a location based upon the population 14 and older. Sales or tax receipts data are used to estimate the volume of ethanol. For some states, only shipment data from major beverage industry sources are available to estimate the volume of ethanol consumed.
- Gallons consumed per drinker in the population (excluding abstainers). To calculate this, you need to estimate the proportion of people that drink in the state or community.
- Track consumption based upon beer, wine, or spirits sales alone if the state maintains these records.
- Contact your state Alcoholic Beverage Control board.
- The Alcohol Epidemiologic Data Directory has alcoholic beverage sales data from every state and the District of Columbia including:
- The alcohol volume sold is computed using the entire population, which includes non-drinkers. Thus, the interpretation of the use measure is not comparable across communities or time periods that have different rates of drinkers and non-drinkers.
- These data do not reveal who is purchasing and consuming the alcohol. These factors may influence the validity of the measure for some communities. In particular, this measure is influenced by the number of non-residents who purchase alcohol within the community.
- This indicator is based on volume measures; therefore, it is not a measure of individual use.
- Per capita alcohol consumption is a reliable and valid indicator that is used at the state and national level and is appropriate to use when available for a local community.
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