David Morrison posted a survey from Pew Research asking people from a variety of countries whether they think alcohol consumption is morally acceptable, morally unacceptable, or not a moral issue. A surprising number of people (around 50%) from Western Europe, Australia, and the U.S. said it was not a moral issue.
Of course alcohol consumption is a moral issue. I doubt that anyone really disagrees.
If your drinking is harming you or others then it’s a moral issue for you and for the people you harm.
If you’re in a position to intervene when someone’s drinking is causing harm then you have a moral issue on your plate.
If you live in a country that treats alcohol as taboo then it is a moral issue whether you agree with the taboo or not. If you agree with the prohibitions it’s likely for moral reasons. If you disagree, then it’s a moral issue that people are prevented from doing what they want.
If you’re in the field of public health, alcohol consumption will be a moral issue because there are morally-relevant consequences to society if people drink or not, and it’s your responsibility to mitigate the harmful consequences. And we want those public officials to consider the moral questions.
Even in a relatively permissive society like ours there are regulations regarding who, when, and where one can drink. Why would we have these regulations if there were no moral consequences to drinking?
If the question were asked “Should people consider the moral consequences of drinking alcohol?” would anyone (except the morally obtuse) say no?
The problem with the survey is that the question doesn’t specify what a moral issue is or from which perspective one is supposed to answer the question. Some people will assume it’s a question about one’s own life and the people they know well. Others will treat it as a question about social ethics or government regulation.
Furthermore, the options for answering the survey question—morally acceptable, morally unacceptable, or not a moral issue—don’t begin to capture the complexity of contexts in which we have to make moral judgments about alcohol. On moral issues, questions regarding “who?” “when?” ‘”where?”“how much?” and “under what circumstances?” are crucial.
Surveys like this that force answers into neat categories tell us nothing about how people actually think about alcohol consumption.
Exploring the Philosophy of Food and Wine 
Liked this article and I’m glad I found it!
Moral issue aside, alcohol is a drink, a beverage. Some won’t hurt you. In fact some studies find it beneficial. But like most things, excess is not good.
All things in moderation. Including moderation.