It's hard to fathom there was ever a time when doctors recommended smoking.

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Yet, not that long ago cigarettes were advertised by men in white coats as "refreshing" and "clean."

Today, it's universally understood that smoking is one of the most damaging things you can do to your body. Smoking rates have plummeted with that knowledge.

The same cultural reckoning is coming for alcohol. How long before we look back on the way we consumed a product that is essentially a poison and be shocked at how cavalier we've been?

This is not a case for prohibition - we only need to look at the "war on drugs" to see how counterproductive that can be.

But it's a sign of cultural maturity that, like tobacco, alcohol is moving from being socially essential to something increasingly questioned.

Young people are at the vanguard of this change. They've grown up with better health information and a sharper radar for marketing spin.

While previous generations were raised to view drinking as the lynchpin of belonging and national identity, today's young people are asking why they need to drink at all.

New figures from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, found Gen Z are nearly 20 times more likely to choose not to drink compared to Baby Boomers, even adjusting for sociodemographic factors.

It's a remarkable turnaround, given just 17 years ago, Australia was in the grip of a youth alcohol crisis, prompting the Rudd government to launch a $53........

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