Alcohol consumption is in decline. A report from the beverage industry tracker IWSR found that US alcohol volumes dropped 0.8 percent in 2018, a reduction for the third consecutive year. Meanwhile, in the UK, according to a recent Lancet study, consumption has plummeted 10% since 1990, with almost 1 in 4 adults choosing to abstain entirely.

Many factors play into this significant shift. Alcohol, from the dawn of civilization, has been at the center of our societies, but it is a crude device for enhancing sociability, with its drawbacks on self-control, short-term hangovers, and long-term health effects.

From prohibition to licensing hours, higher authorities like the church and state have traditionally regulated our alcohol use, but now it’s become democratized with power now held by the individual.