According to the Medical Council on Alcohol, alcohol-specific mortality increased by 32.8% between 2020 and 2022, reaching its highest level since records began in 2019. The report also estimated that the annual cost to the public purse was £2.225 billion and that the total cost of alcohol-related harms was £4.91 billion per year.

A 2019 report by the Institute of Alcohol Studies concluded that between 51% and 76% of people were affected by the drinking of other people, with the greatest burden falling on the immediate family of the ‘problem drinker’. Alcohol harms are both chronic (among the population physically dependent on alcohol) and acute, including the injuries and accidents experienced by those engaged in episodic or binge drinking.

Sober shaming and how it affects drinking habits

One of the problems we face is stigma and societal expectations that drinking (including to the point of severe intoxication) is ‘normal’. To return to the Medical Council on Alcohol report, it is also estimated that only 15-18% of those who are physically dependent on alcohol are accessing alcohol services.  Part of the reason for this incredibly low rate of help-seeking is the normalisation of heavy drinking and the stigma associated with seeking help. It is essential that we reverse the historically harmful attitudes in the UK, in which heavy drinkers are the ‘life and soul of the party’ and abstainers are seen as ‘party poopers’.

There is some evidence that our relationship with alcohol is changing. While there has been a downward trend in adolescent drinking, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), adolescent drinking in the UK remains the highest of all European countries. So, there are strong reasons to address the culture and social norms around drinking for adults and adolescents, by challenging negative perceptions of sobriety, and encouraging informed, individual choices around alcohol use.

Dry January and its implications

Dry January was registered as a Trademark by Alcohol Change UK in 2014 and is based on the idea of breaking the habitual use of alcohol and allowing individuals to review their relationship with drinking. From its inception, it has grown from 4,000 participants to 215,000 participants and evidenced benefits include improved sleep and vitality, weight loss, financial benefits and positive impacts on relationships.

Furthermore, many people decide not to return to drinking on 1 February and discover that time without alcohol is easier to achieve and beneficial. I will be doing a dry January again this year, as I do most years. As a child of an alcoholic parent, I do this simply to prove to myself that alcohol is not too much of a routine part of my world.

Leeds Trinity University has made two huge strides in its commitment to promoting a stronger culture of supportive sober activities among its staff and students

1. In partnership with Forward Leeds on Campus, Leeds Trinity now has a Collegiate Recovery Programme to support students and staff who are in addiction recovery, who have been affected by addiction or who are sober curious. The programme offers a variety of support, such as weekly drop-ins with addiction recovery professionals, sober socials with local partners around Leeds, as well as weekly check-in groups and bi-weekly recovery celebrations, starting in February 2025.

2. Leeds Trinity has a series of sober social events run through Sober Butterfly Collective, championing sobriety as a lifestyle choice and promoting alcohol-free social events. The Leeds Trinity Students’ Union is running a Sober Butterfly Coffee morning at the Main Campus in Horsforth, on Thursday 16 January, to promote socialising without alcohol.

Regardless of your own position on Dry January, it is important that we all recognise that alcohol consumption is an individual choice often informed by culture, religion, family history and personal experience. It is something to be respected and to be encouraged for its individual, family and community benefits and, as a result, the days of ‘sober shaming’ should be left in the past.

David Best is Professor of Addiction Recovery and Director of the Centre for Addiction Recovery Research at Leeds Trinity University.

If you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol use or any other addiction, you can seek help safely and anonymously through the NHS, or charities such as Forward Leeds. To access help through Leeds Trinity University, visit the Student Support and Wellbeing or the Staff Wellbeing pages.