A national survey of college freshmen finds 33 percent reported drinking beer in 2012, down from 35.4 percent the previous year.

In 1982, the survey found 73.7 percent of college freshmen reported drinking beer, Yahoo! Shine reports.

The survey found 39.2 percent of college freshmen said they drank wine or liquor last year.

The 2012 Freshman Norms report, which has been conducted by UCLA's Cooperative Institutional Research Program annually since 1966, includes freshmen at 283 four-year colleges and universities around the country.

The survey found 13.7 percent of freshmen said they spent six or more hours per week partying during their senior year of high school, a dramatic decrease from the 63 percent who reported high school partying in 1987.

In a statement, Beer Institute President Joe McClain commented, "While we recognize there is more work to be done to eliminate underage drinking, today we have a record number of college freshmen who are making the right choices about drinking. We are encouraged by this reduction, and America's brewers and beer importers will continue to build upon this success through programs that will further reduce the harmful use of alcohol."

Alcohol is widely available and aggressively promoted throughout society. It is the most commonly used and abused drug among youth in the United States -- more than tobacco and illicit drugs -- and although drinking by persons under the age of 21 is illegal, people aged 12 to 20 drink 11% of all alcohol consumed in the United States. Click here to read more about Underage and Alcohol.