January is again upon us, marking a month of abstinence from alcohol for many. Nearly 9 million people will participate in dry January this year, according to Alcohol Change. The campaign, devised by the charity in 2013 to change drinking culture through “social contagion”, has boomed in popularity over the past decade, and points to a corresponding rise in the sober curious (people who drink less or not at all). But dig a little deeper behind the statistics and you will find a growing disparity between young and older people in attitudes towards alcohol.
According to Alcohol Change, a quarter of people aged 18-34 are planning to abstain from drinking this month, compared with only 10% of people aged 55 and over. It is a similar picture for people who want to reduce their alcohol intake in 2023 – 40% of 18-34s as opposed to 20% of over 55s, despite the latter age group drinking twice as much as young people in a week.
