It took a moment to make the connection, but Jake Sawyers says the recession has been good for him, or at least for his health.
"I smoke when I drink, and I drink when I go out and I've been doing less of that," said the 36-year-old Canton resident who was buying a pack of cigarettes at a neighborhood convenience store. "I am also exercising more. Maybe I have more energy because I'm not drinking and smoking as much."
Sawyers isn't alone. Data show that many people are taming their vices rather than drowning their sorrows these days - behavior that national researchers say is consistent with past recessions. The desire to drink and smoke may grow with financial pressures, but sales of some alcohol and cigarettes are dipping with disposable income.
"It's a complete myth that people drink more during recessions. In fact, just the opposite is true," said David Ozgo, the Distilled Spirits Council's chief economist, who has studied recessions since the 1970s. Liquor sales nationally started slowing in 2007 and dropped 5 percent to 10 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008.
The evidence is not conclusive because other studies and informal polls show that many people are indulging in the same amounts. Some even more. But the findings, particularly those compiled since the economy began sliding last fall, indicate that the country as a whole might end up a bit healthier for its troubles:
* Nine percent of U.S. consumers have cut down on smoking and 14 percent have cut down on alcohol or bought cheaper brands, according to a February Nielsen Co. report.
* Consumers were eating out and drinking less in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with 2007. Also, more wine was sold by the glass than by the bottle, according to a report from the National Restaurant Association. The Beer Institute, a trade group representing brewers, reported that beer sales dropped about 2 percent in restaurants and bars in 2008, though less expensive store sales of beer rose about 1 percent.
* In Maryland, tax receipts from beer sales were down 1.5 percent in the second half of 2008 compared with 2007, though those from wine and spirits sales were up about the same amount. Alcohol sellers fear a proposed state alcohol tax increase would weaken sales.
