Campaigns that challenge people to abstain from alcohol for one month — often in support of a good cause — have emerged across the globe over the past decade. Dry January was officially launched with a 2013 campaign. public health campaign by British charity Alcohol Change.
Other “month of abstinence” campaigns have included Dry July, Sober September, Sober October and “Dry February” — a few examples of campaigns from Australia, New ZealandThe United States, Canada, and elsewhere. People are increasingly opting to stop drinking alcohol for a month with dry campaigns.
Early research suggests that alcohol use is linked to alcoholism increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among individuals who have mental health challenges. The pandemic could be contributing to the increased interest in dry-month campaigns. Market research surveysYou have found an estimated one in five people participated in Dry January in 2022.
On the surface, “dry” months are great — individuals set a personal goal to abstain from drinking, are publicly encouraged to achieve it and raise funds for a charity. It can be seen as positive and supportive, and many people tout it. health benefitsThey experience the result.
Complex Substance Use
As a substance abuse researcher and therapist, there are many benefits to avoiding alcohol for at least one month in order to achieve your personal health goals. I appreciate the peer support that is offered by those who are attempting these challenges.
I was so offended when I heard someone share the life-changing benefits she experienced during her four-week stint of sobriety over the radio. Why am I irked when people express relief when their four weeks of Dry February are over, and they can get back to “wine time?”
I’m troubled because while dry drinking campaigns benefit many, they do not help the individuals that I have worked with over the years. These campaigns and attitudes don’t contribute to a more nuanced discussion of substance use. Instead, these campaigns perpetuate the belief that quitting drinking for one month is an option, and a positive one.
Dry February and the associated campaigns are not for people who have difficulty with the flu. systemic inequalitiesThese are the factors that lead to substance misuse issues, such as poverty, illness, racism. You will also note that these campaigns are only about alcohol — a socially acceptable substance.
How would these campaigns be perceived by people if they focused on other drugs instead? Dry campaigns support a harm reduction strategy — not drinking for a month for health benefits with no expectation of ongoing abstinence. They continue to consider alcohol to be more socially acceptable than other drugs. People who use drugs are negatively affected.
These attitudes marginalize all other substances and only normalize the use of alcohol, which contributes towards the ongoing War on DrugsAnd a deadly drug supply. These campaigns also praise people for not drinking, which reinforces the harmful belief that drinking (and other drugs) are bad or subversive, and should be controlled.
Stigma and Inequality
These campaigns target a majority of white, educated, middle-class individuals who have the privilege of not drinking and are free from social stigma.
In one 2020 study comparing individuals who participated in a Dry January with the general population, those who participated in Dry January, were more likely to be younger, women, had a higher income, had completed university education and had “significantly better self-rated physical health.”
Celebrating a majority of middle-/upper-class, educated women who have quit drinking for a month is potentially dangerous. It perpetuates a false dichotomy of all or nothing moralistic attitude towards substance use. This reinforces the myth that quitting using substances is a choice anyone can (and should).
My clients who are in therapy for substance abuse issues are not eligible for dry month campaigns. They don’t consider themselves to be welcome participants in these campaigns. Their substance use or sobriety isn’t trendy, or worthy of a hashtag. It’s messy, it’s personal and it is often much more complicated than deciding to “just quit.” For them, drinking can be a needed self-medication tool, an endless obstacle, or an enjoyable friend.
Privileges and policy
I still appreciate dry month campaigns in many ways, including raising money for charity or bringing substance abuse into the spotlight. These months are also worthy of deeper reflection.
Substance abuse is complicated. People often struggle with substance use because of social inequalities and trauma, unsafe supply, poverty, and other factors. The stigmatization and negative stereotypes that surround people who use alcohol or other drugs is reinforced by treating a four-week alcohol vacation as a moral victory. While alcohol and other drugs do not inherently cause harm, the policies that we make to avoid them are what are causing it.
In the midst of Dry February, my hope for dry campaigns would be that they offer not solely a chance to examine and limit one’s own drinking, but an opportunity to broaden the discussion around how privilege and policy impact one’s relationship with alcohol and other drugs.
