Edit: The downturn in drinking has huge ramifications for restaurants as they make a lot of profit on alcohol.

What did the industry expect?

My father was in the former category, and ultimately it was alcohol that killed him. He thought he was a moderate drinker, not an alcoholic, and I doubt he would have self-reported drinking 'heavily' with his beer-goggles on. As far as he was concerned, he had always enjoyed a glass of wine with a meal, to have spirits as a 'night cap' and beer on sunny afternoons.

I saw the progression, and I went the other way, from 'enjoying' a drink on special occasions, always socially, never home alone, to complete abstinence. I decided that I no longer wanted to enable the alcohol dependent person by drinking, or have the health complications.

Looking back on the drinking I have done over the years, it was always people that brought me pleasure, not that vile alcohol stuff that brought us together. Motivation for going to the pub was meeting certain people, not drinking particular beverages.

As you can imagine, I am going to gleefully report 'I never touch that poison' to a pollster, whereas my father would never report drinking more than he used to, because he didn't see what was going on with his liver (and wallet).