Andrea Felsted, Columnist

Dry January Is the Least of Big Booze’s Problems

Brewers and distillers face a triple measure of woes due to demographic shifts, diet drugs and health warnings about alcohol.

February 17, 2025 at 5:00 AM UTC

By Andrea Felsted

Andrea Felsted is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering consumer goods and the retail industry. Previously, she was a reporter for the Financial Times.

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Photographer: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images North America

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Dry January may already be a distant memory, but the problems for big booze are far from receding.

The US Surgeon General’s advisory on the link between alcohol and cancer, the rise of weight-loss drugs that can dampen demand for a drink, young people preferring the gym to a gin, and now the prospect of tariffs have left brewers and distillers with a nasty hangover. While they can plausibly defend their business with low- and no- alcohol alternatives, it’s enough to drive investors to drink.