← By The Numbers
By The Numbers — Demand Destruction Signal

Sex, Alcohol, and Dining

Economists watch unemployment and GDP; savvy investors watch restaurant bar tabs. When Americans stop buying $18 cocktails, a broader contraction has already begun.
March 19, 2026
The Numbers Desk

A more health-conscious and lonely generation might spell trouble for the restaurant industry.

ENTRIES008
SOURCES004
POLLS002
Drinking by Party
001
Change in U.S. adults who drink alcohol from 2016-2025
-10%
002
Share of Republicans who drank alcohol in 2025
46%
003
Of Democrats
61%
Alcohol Tax
004
Federal alcohol excise tax collections in 2024
8.8billion dollars
005
10.13billion dollars
The industry's financial model is collapsing quietly — alcohol produces 80% of restaurant profit on a shrinking customer base, and tax revenues are evaporating in real time.
006
Approximate share of restaurant profit that comes from drinks (not food)
80%
Sexual Activity
007
Weekly sexual activity among U.S. adults aged 18 to 64, 1990
55%
008
Weekly sexual activity among U.S. adults aged 18 to 64, 2024
37%
Readers & Markets
What happens next, in numbers.
2 polls measuring where opinion sits. Prices and vote shares update in real time.
Reader Polls
02 surveys
Drinking in Moderation (one or Two Drinks a Day) Is Bad for One's Health?
Source: Gallup
Issue Poll
2025
53%
2016
28%
Americans' Positive Rating of the Restaurant Industry
Source: Gallup
Issue Poll
2022
61%
2023
52%
Originating headlines: Seed Article; Financial Times; The Economist.