We May Have Already Hit Peak Booze

Without noticing it, humanity has passed a remarkable milestone: Alcohol consumption has gone into possibly permanent decline.

That’s a turning point in a habit at least as old as civilization itself. For millennia, we’ve used drinking to loosen our inhibitions at social gatherings, anesthetize ourselves from the drudgery of life, or simply give a little sparkle to our days. The fact that we’re giving it up without even noticing is a sign of how other long-standing practices — from smoking and sexual promiscuity to eating red meat — might dwindle just as painlessly.