Dry January

Dry January is a custom of abstaining from alcohol for the month of January, particularly practised in the United Kingdom.

The custom, as a formal entity, appears to be relatively recent, being described as having "sprung up in recent years" even in 2014.^[1] Although the Finnish government launched a campaign called "Sober January" already in 1942 as part of its war effort.^[2] The term "Dry January" was registered as a trademark by the charity Alcohol Concern in mid-2014;^[3] the first ever Dry January campaign by Alcohol Concern occurred in January 2013.^[4] In the leadup to the January 2015 campaign, for the first time Alcohol Concern partnered with Public Health England.^[5]

In January 2014 according to Alcohol Concern, which initiated the campaign, over 17,000 Britons stopped drinking for that month.^[6] While there is controversy as to the efficacy and benefits of the practice, a 2014 survey by the University of Sussex found that six months following January 2014, out of 900 surveyed participants in the custom, 72% had "kept harmful drinking episodes down" and 4% were still not drinking.^[7]

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