The latest results of the New Zealand Health Survey, released in November, show about one in four adults choose not to drink.
That was down from about one in five in 2019/20.
Among 15-24-year-olds, 70% said they did not drink, down from 77.4% five years ago. There was a year-on-year spike in hazardous drinking at the underage end of this range, but it was still lower than six years ago.
Hazardous drinking in the adult population overall declined across various measures in the same period.
Previously, one in five adults was considered a hazardous drinker. Now it’s one in six.
And the number of adults throwing back six or more drinks in one sitting at least weekly is at 8.2%, down from 12%.
The NZ Alcohol Beverage Council called this a “growing shift towards moderate drinking and healthy lifestyles”, and noted recent Stats NZ data showed alcohol consumption at its lowest per-capita level since 1984.
Independent market research the council commissioned found more Kiwis consuming low-alcohol beverages.
The research also measured what was described as a recent trend – but which sounds suspiciously like the advice mums have dolled out for decades to teens off to their first boozy parties.
Originating in the United Kingdom, “zebra striping” is the terrible new moniker for alternating alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks when socialising.
About one in five Kiwi consumers said they did this often and half did it sometimes.
You would bet none called it zebra striping.
Gimmicky lingo aside, however, a more discerning attitude to hitting the bottle can only be good news for the country.
The cost of alcohol harm to New Zealand was estimated at $9.1 billion in a 2024 report.
An Otago University study found that in 2018, more than 900 deaths were attributable to alcohol, plus 29,282 hospitalisations and 128,963 ACC claims.
With those sobering statistics in mind, here’s an update on Kiwi attitudes to drinking for 2026.
Not drinking at all is no longer considered mean, and if you are at all inclined towards being a mean drunk, consider making like a zebra.