Among them is that the percentage of Utahns who are members of the abstinence-preaching The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is decreasing. The number of LDS members who consider themselves active in the church also appears to be dropping. The number of tourists to Utah is increasing. Alcohol is now available in more restaurants. And the variety of products available here is increasing.

The data

The sales increase at state liquor stores was found by a Deseret Morning News analysis of state data for years between 1996 and 2006. Preliminary data for fiscal 2006, which just ended on June 30, was obtained through a state open-records law request.

The state calculates the per-capita consumption of alcohol by dividing the number of gallons sold through the state liquor store system by the state's population each year. That does not include sales of low-alcohol (3.2 percent) beer at grocery and other stores.

Per-person consumption in Utah increased from 1.59 gallons per person in 1996 to 1.96 in 2006 — a 24 percent increase.

The actual, overall gallons of alcoholic beverages sold by state liquor stores and licensed restaurants increased even more as Utah's population grew — from 3.17 million gallons in 1996 to 5.13 million gallons in 2006, a 62 percent increase.

Sales of some types of beverages increased more than others. The sale of "heavy beers" sold in liquor stores increased 139 percent over the decade; rum was up 107 percent; and wine by 63 percent.

Among other types of drinks, vodka was up 54 percent; tequila, 52 percent; "miscellaneous liquor," 43 percent; brandy, 42 percent; gin, 20 percent; and whiskey 14 percent.

Some think that Utahns actually consume more than even those figures suggest. For example, William Christoffersen, president of the Utah Beer Wholesalers Association, said many Utahns likely bring back big supplies of heavy beer when they visit neighboring states because taxes and costs are much lower there.

Despite increases in the sales of harder liquor, when other data for regular beer sales is added, it appears that overall per-capita alcohol consumption dropped over the decade.

The Beer Institute estimates that per-capita sales in Utah of all beer were actually down between 1996 and 2005 (the last year with data available) — from 12.8 gallons per person to 12.2 gallons in 2005, a 4.7 percent drop.

When its figures for beer are added to state figures for wine and spirits for the period from 1996 to 2005, it shows an overall drop of 2.5 percent in per-capita consumption for alcohol of all types.