Kelsey said state surveys on alcohol use and abuse also consistently show drops in recent years. For example, the number of Utahns reporting they had used alcohol within a month of being surveyed dropped from 27.9 percent in 1996 to 20.8 percent in 2005, a 25 percent decrease.

Also, studies say Utahns still drink the least alcohol of all Americans — probably because the LDS Church preaches abstinence, and more than 70 percent of Utahns are LDS.

Estimates for 2004 from the Beer Institute for alcohol of all types ranked Utah dead last among states in per capita consumption, at 14 gallons per person. The next lowest state was Kansas at 20.7 gallons.

Nevada was No. 1 with 40.4 gallons per person. The national average was 24.9 gallons per person — or 78 percent higher than in Utah.

The benefits

But the increased sales at state liquor stores have fattened the state treasury.

Utah charges a special 13 percent tax on such sales to help support the school lunch program. Its collections increased 93 percent over the decade, from $10.7 million in 1996 to $21 million in fiscal 2006.

Profits from sales at state liquor stores also go into the state general fund. They increased 112 percent in the decade, from $5.3 million in 1996 to $11.6 million in 2006.

And the state and local governments split money that comes from sales tax collected by state liquor stores. It increased 118 percent over the decade, from 22.2 million 2006 to $47 million in 2006.

In short, local governments and schools are gulping nearly $70 million a year in tax benefits from state liquor store sales.

But alcohol comes with a price, too. Kelsey said that while overall alcohol use appears to be declining, the cost to taxpayers to treat problem drinkers is increasing. He said that is because privately funded treatment is disappearing. "So it's become a public taxpayer-funded system," he said.

"Because services are not as available, a lot of people go to emergency rooms or end up in jails or prison — where treatment is the most expensive," Kelsey said.

When asked to guess why state liquor stores are selling so much more per Utahn, Wynn said, "The demographics of the state are changing."

One such change is that the percentage of Utahns who are LDS is diminishing.

Sam Otterstrom, a Brigham Young University geology professor who watches demographic trends in Utah, said that in 1995, 75 percent of Utahns were LDS. Now, the latest figures show that 71.1 percent are. Of course, as more people who are not LDS move to Utah, that could help increase drinking here or consumption of harder drinks.