Alcohol Dominates Substance Use by Adults 35-50, Survey Finds

Among early midlife adults, virtually all alcohol use measures had reached new low levels in 2024, according to the University of Michigan's "Monitoring the Future" survey, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Prevalence in 2025 continued to reach new lows for 30-day use and binge drinking. For 30-day use, there were significant decreases over the past five and 10 years (from 67.9% in 2015 and 69.1% in 2020 to 63.9% in 2025).

Binge drinking decreased over the past five years (from 25.4% in 2020 to 23.2% in 2025). Trends for 12-month and daily use also continued to decrease but showed some indications of leveling off. Past 12-month use decreased over the past five years (from 85.5% in 2020 to 82.2% in 2025.)

Alcohol remained the most prevalent substance used in the past 12 months by adults 35-50 years old. Some 82.2% drank in 2025, according to the Monitoring the Future survey conducted by the University of Michigan for the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

That was nearly three times the 29;9% who used cannabis in the past 12 months and four times the 20.2% who used cannabis in the past 30 days. It was also nearly three times the 29.9% who used nicotine in the past 12 months. Cigarettes were used in the past 12 months by 13.2% of those surveyed and by 8.6% in the past 30 days.

Just 7.3% of adults 35-50 used alcohol daily (defined as 20 or more occasions in the past 30 days. Daily use increased with age, the survey found, from 5.5% at age 35 to 25.9% at age 65.

Binge drinking (five or more drinks in a rose in the past two weeks) was reported by 5.4% of midlife adults in 2025.