More People Now Use Cannabis Daily Than Drink Alcohol Daily. Here’s What That Tells Us About Health.

New research commissioned by online vaping store Discount Vape Pen shows that cannabis has overtaken alcohol as the most frequently used adult substance in the US, and that the shift is being driven by health-conscious consumers actively choosing to drink less. The data tells a story that goes well beyond a simple crossover stat.

The number everyone missed

In 2022, daily cannabis users in the US outnumbered daily drinkers for the first time: 17.7 million versus 14.7 million. That's the headline, but what their analysis shows was more telling.

The median drinker consumes alcohol on 4-5 days per month. The median cannabis user uses on 15-16 days per month. When you apply those frequencies to the total user populations:

• 134.3 million past-month drinkers x 4.5 days = ~604 million monthly drinking occasions
• 44.3 million past-month cannabis users x 15.5 days = ~687 million monthly cannabis occasions

Cannabis already generates more total consumption occasions than alcohol, with one-third the user base. As far as we're aware, this specific calculation hasn't been published before.

"The user-count crossover got a lot of attention, but the occasions figure is the one that should make people sit up," says James Smith, Head of Vaping Community at Discount Vape Pen. "It tells you that cannabis isn't just used by more people daily than alcohol, but that it occupies more moments in daily life overall. What that means is that there has been a fundamental shift in how adults in the US are choosing to relax."

Why people are making the switch

The shift isn't random. It maps directly onto a documented change in how people think about their health. The picture in the UK is strikingly similar.

• 48% of UK adults who drink alcohol plan to stop or cut down over the next year (Aviva, 2024)
• The number of people taking part in Dry January more than doubled between 2019 and 2024, from 4.2 million to 8.5 million (Alcohol Change UK)
• 39% of 18 to 24-year-olds in the UK now don't drink alcohol at all (YouGov, 2024)

The motivations are primarily economic and health-related, not moral. People want clearer heads, better sleep, fewer calories, and lower spending. Cannabis, particularly via vaping, fits neatly into that gap because it delivers relaxation without a hangover, and in a controlled, low-odour format that suits the pursuit of wellness. Cannabis remains illegal for recreational use in the UK, but the shift away from alcohol is happening regardless.

A February 2026 study found that people who switched to cannabis beverages cut their weekly alcohol intake roughly in half, with nearly two-thirds reporting they had reduced or stopped drinking after starting cannabis.

Vaping is the format driving it

Of the Americans who used cannabis last month, 40% vaped it (NSDUH 2024). Vaping heats cannabis without combustion, avoiding the byproducts associated with smoking. For health-conscious consumers, it's a meaningful distinction.

The global cannabis vaporizer market reflects the demand: valued at $5.9 billion in 2024 and projected to reach $13.06 billion by 2030, growing at 14.5% annually (Grand View Research). Portable devices dominate, precisely because they suit the everyday moments people have traditionally reached for a drink.

"What we see in our own customers matches the national data," says Smith. "People are reaching for a vape pen in the same situations they might have previously opened a bottle of wine, like at the end of a working day or on a Friday evening. Vaping is low-key, it doesn't smell, and you can control the dose and for someone who's trying to be a bit more considerate about what they put in their body, that's a meaningful upgrade on a glass of something."

Methodology: The occasions calculations are original to Discount Vape Pen, combining past-month user figures from the 2024 NSDUH with median frequency-of-use data from Caulkins (2024), Addiction. The 2030 projection uses constant-rate assumptions and is illustrative. Additional sources: Grand View Research, CoBank, Aviva, Alcohol Change UK, YouGov/Portman Group, ScienceDaily.