Dry January: can you not drink in January? – 01/21/2024 – Red or White

This year, for the first time, I met people in Brazil who are trying to join the Dry January , a public health campaign in the United Kingdom that proposes that people go a month without drinking anything alcoholic. Trying is the right word, because everyone I spoke to had already made some mistakes: having three glasses of wine at a work dinner, a caipirinha on the weekend at the beach, a phenomenal drink on a Friday with friends that is well documented in Instagram stories…

Everyone fell, but got up. And they continued to pursue their post-holiday detox project. Some fell and got up a few times a week, but that’s okay, it’s worth it. I support every attempt to be healthier and I am in favor of campaigns that aim to improve public health.

I know that, if it works, a campaign like this could cause alcohol sales to drop. That doesn’t change my opinion. I don’t work for the wine industry (although I have several friends in it) and, unlike what I hear all the time from many people who write about wine, including career journalists, my mission is not to increase wine consumption in the country. . My mission, if I have one, is to provide correct and useful information to my readers. And taking care of your health is useful.

I’m just skeptical. I think it’s difficult for a movement like this to work here precisely in January, the month of vacation, beach, pool and, what’s worse, it heats up for Carnival. I could be wrong, of course. I thought that the law that prohibits smoking in bars (and in newspaper and magazine offices, as well as in any closed public place) would never catch on. He picked up. And I stopped smoking myself. Will I be drinking alcohol-free gin and tonic next January or the next? I have my doubts.

O Dry January is an initiative by the English NGO Alcohol Change, based on the experience of marathon runner Emily Robinson who, in 2011, spent January without drinking to train for a February race and felt a series of health benefits. The campaign was officially launched in 2013, with 4 thousand people signed up. This year there were 200,000 subscribers, but it’s worth remembering that many people may be doing the detox without signing up on the official website. Several studies show that this month without alcohol brings benefits throughout the year.

Long before they invented the Dry January, people were already making promises to cut down on drinking, go on a diet or even stop drinking after New Year’s Eve. I myself don’t remember how many times I promised to go on a diet in January (which included not drinking). I had more success with this when January was the month to travel with my parents.

Managing to go a month without drinking is not easy, but it is not impossible. I’ve done this several times. Once, by the way, I went five months without putting a drop of alcohol in my mouth. At the time, I didn’t write about wine. When your job includes tasting wines, it becomes more difficult. However, I believe in moderation and the habit of drinking fewer glasses of wine, but better wines, which may be a little more expensive.

Not all readers agree with me. All good. Everyone knows where it hurts and, for most mortals, it hurts in their pockets. However, after Carnival is over, I propose a Drier March, something a little different from the Dry January. Instead of consuming two R$30.00 bottles, try drinking just one R$60.00 bottle. If you already consume R$60.00 labels, try exchanging two R$60.00 labels for one R$120.00 label. And so on. Just be careful not to go back to the old quantity in April and keep the price doubled. It’s a risk.

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