Recent Headlines About Drinking Alcohol (or not drinking alcohol)
US News and World Report, April 2024
Binge Drinking Boosts Heart Risks, Especially for Women
The new findings relied on data from more than 430,000 Californian adults aged 65 and under.
“For women, we find consistently higher [heart] risk even without binge drinking," Rana said in a news release from the American College of Cardiology (ACC)”.
New York Times, April 2024
Should Alcoholic Beverages Have Cancer Warning Labels?
Beginning in 2026, containers of beer, wine and liquor sold in Ireland will be required by law to bear a label in red capital letters with two warnings: “THERE IS A DIRECT LINK BETWEEN ALCOHOL AND FATAL CANCERS” and “DRINKING ALCOHOL CAUSES LIVER DISEASE.”
New York Times, April 2024
Complications From Alcohol Use Are Rising in Women.
Demographic shifts can also help explain why women are drinking at higher rates, Dr. Keyes said. Women tend to marry and have children at later ages than in previous decades, so they spend more time in what Dr. Keyes calls a “high-risk period for heavy drinking.”
“People don’t realize the real health consequences these heavy drinking patterns can have,” she added.
Shondaland, 2023
How to Move Forward With an Alcohol-Free Life
More Americans than ever are bidding farewell to booze, for many different reasons. As one writer explains, if you’re curious about starting a sober life, it doesn’t have to be as daunting as it sounds.
For the last six months, I’ve kept an app called I Am Sober on my phone. It’s a sobriety tracking app that, in the last five years, has sprung up among the countless others (like Try Dry, Nomo, and Saying When) that help monitor habitual use of drugs and alcohol or provide access to communities of like-minded people who are in need of or curious about sobriety. I Am Sober runs a timer, tracking how long a user has abstained from any one of a number of intoxicating substances. Alcohol has never been a large part of my life, but over the last few years, both during the pandemic lockdown and then during the excitement of restarting daily activities, I’ve noticed a creep. Airport lounges, meeting up with friends, concerts — they all seem to include a drink. Taking a moment to decide if I want to hit the reset button on my app, thus erasing my “streak” of sobriety, has forced me to also consider if I actually want to indulge. And more often than not, the answer is no.
USA TOday, October 2023
Sober October' is here with more n/a options
“With the amount of information that is always available around us, people have become more health conscious and want to have more informed decisions on what they are putting into their body," Maria Meza Martinez, registered dietitian with Florida-based not-for-profit Orlando Health, told USA TODAY in an email exchange.
"For that reason, I believe Sober October and similar challenges have gained so much popularity because people will want to question and gain the knowledge on … the benefits of eliminating alcohol even for just 31 days, such as better sleep, improved immune function, and reducing the risk of some cancers," she said.
CNN, October 2023
Why my Sober October lasted a year
But without alcohol, would I still be fun? Would I lose friends — either because they would no longer want to be friends with me or I’d no longer want to be around them? Socializing and dating, especially within the LGBTQ community, are so centered on drinking — how would I navigate that? I’ve gone weeks and even longer than a month without drinking before. I don’t drink every day, or heavily every time I do — so do I need to abstain entirely?
The answers to those questions are, yes, I would still be fun; no, I did not lose friends; yes, dating is a struggle regardless of drinking; and for the last one, yes, I do need to abstain. If you feel as though you need to quit drinking, even temporarily, I think it’s worth trying.
L.A. Times, September 2023
Alcohol Free Dance Parties Taking Over L.A.
Leading the charge is Gen Z, which is drinking an average of 20% less than millennials, according to a report by Berenberg Research, and more likely to prioritize taste over getting a buzz. With Gen Zers reaching legal drinking age and entering nightlife spaces for the first time, event organizers and the nonalcoholic beverage industry are adjusting to accommodate those habits. Thus far, the shift has proved fruitful: In 2022, the non- and low-alcoholic beverage industry surpassed $11 billion in market value.
The Gazette (colorado), September 2023
Three Years Alcohol Free and Loving it
Not that I’m counting or anything. But I am. Three Augusts ago I decided, in the heat of a pandemic summer, maybe the unlikeliest time to forgo a soothing substance, that I would finally listen to the whisper of my spirit and say bye bye to the booze.
Economist, September 2023
Drugs Used to Treat Alcohol Use Disorder are Underused
Nearly 30m Americans suffer from alcohol-use disorder, meaning that alcohol has a significant and negative impact on their lives. Over 140,000 die from alcohol-related causes each year: alcohol is the fourth-highest cause of preventable death in America. These statistics are especially devastating because for many people the suffering could have been avoided.
Usa today, August 2023
Middle-Aged U.S. Adults Drinking and Using Marijuana at Record Levels
New research from the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future (MTF) panel revealed that middle-aged adults ages 35 to 50 are using marijuana and hallucinogens at record levels. Binge drinking had spiked to the "highest prevalence ... ever recorded for this age group," the panel study reported Thursday.
Wall Street Journal, August 2023
Women’s Problem Drinking Is Catching Up to Men’s
“There used to be a large gender gap in alcohol use and alcohol use disorder between men and women,” says Dawn Sugarman, a research psychologist at McLean Hospital and assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School. “That is shrinking.”
Over the past couple of decades, problem drinking has risen most among 30- and 40-something women, says Aaron White, senior scientific adviser to the director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, or NIAAA. Rates of drinking among teen girls has been declining, he says, but go up once women hit their 20s.
Binge drinking among women has gradually lost its social stigma over several generations to the point where it is almost a rite of passage in college. In recent years, a growing culture of mom drinking escalated during the pandemic, as some mothers juggling remote school and work drank more to cope with stress, and the habit stuck, doctors say.
Entrepreneur , May 2023
Choosing Health over Happy Hour
Adaptogens in Non-Alcoholic Beverages are on the Rise and Here's Why. The "sober curious" are discovering a "healthier happy hour" with stress-reducing and wellness benefits from these non-boozy beverages.
The low-to-no alcohol category surpassed $11B in 2022, up from $8B in 2018 and is predicted to triple by a third in 2026, driven mainly by non-alcoholic products. According to Crunchbase, non-alcoholic beverage startups raised a record $414M in funding last year.
Health.com, April 2021
The Reason Why Women Are Drinking More Than They Ever Have
Between career and financial pressure, the needs of kids and senior parents, and adjusting to empty nests and aging bodies, life can feel like a high-wire act, and sipping something smooth can ease the strain. The trouble is, now that booze has become so linked with relaxing, many of us don’t even think to question our consumption. “Drinking has a tendency to escalate—one glass turns into two and then three,” says psychologist Joseph Nowinski, PhD, author of Almost Alcoholic. “That doesn’t mean you’re an addict, but you should be aware that you’ve moved from low-risk drinking to a level that’s more dangerous.”
Eater Chicago, April 2021
As COVID-19 Disrupts Live Music, a DePaul Bar Boosts Non-Alcoholic Options
He wants his venue to create an environment where customers don’t feel pressure to consume alcohol. He aims to show that no one needs booze to enjoy a concert or a night out with friends.
“I think it’s important to be an advocate for non-drinkers,” he says, citing many nights out where he’s gotten stuck with bad coffee or bitters and soda.
The New York TIMES, April 2021
Excessive Drinking Rose During the Pandemic. Here Are Ways to Cut Back
As her stress levels soared, so did her alcohol intake. Before the pandemic, Ms. Carbone would have a glass of red wine with dinner most nights. But by May, her intake had climbed substantially. “I noticed I was having a glass of wine as soon as I got home, then a glass with dinner, then we’d sit down to watch TV and I’d have another glass or two,” she said. “By the end of the night I was drinking a bottle.”
FORBES, April 2021
No-Low Alcohol Wines Hit The U.S., Looking To Gain Traction.
The reason for the launch of so many new “Nolo” alcohol brands—from Eins Zwei Zero Riesling and Stella Rosa Peach to Kim Crawford Illuminate and Cupcake Lighthearted—is most likely based on statistics showing impressive sales growth in this category. For example, Nielsen NLSN -1% reported 37% dollar growth in non-alcohol beer, wine and spirits for 2020 compared to 2019, in a recent Beverage Alcohol Webinar. And the IWSR released a new study showing the Nolo category is expected to grow 31% by 2024.
FORBES, April 2021
Is The Online Alcohol Sales Boom Here To Stay?
sbc’s commentary - People are drinking more than ever because Big Alcohol is spending more than ever to get people to drink. Marketing works. Marketing for an addictive substance definitely works.
Alcohol ad spend in 2020 grew steadily throughout the year, outpacing the average of most industries. Facebook, Instagram, Google search, and YouTube are the leading platforms where alcohol brands spend their marketing dollars. They also allocate ad spend to other channels including display ads, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, and regional OTT video platforms.
CNY Central, April 2021
Alcohol-related liver disease on the rise, primarily in young women
"I think more women are drinking like men. They're drinking heavily, they're drinking frequently, they're starting earlier in life." Dr. Mellinger said. "There seems to be a lot more anxiety, depression, mental health in general and we know that seems to be a trend that has risen over the years as well, and that often co-occurs."
Harvard Health, April 2021
Women, alcohol, and COVID-19
Between 2001–02 and 2012–13, there was a 16% increase in the proportion of women who drink alcohol, a 58% increase in women’s heavy drinking (versus 16% in men), and an 84% increase in women’s one-year prevalence of an alcohol use disorder (versus 35% in men).
This is in part due to changing social norms around female alcohol consumption and the alcohol industry’s targeted marketing to women.
Washington Post, April 2021
When a dive bar fan quit drinking, he set out to craft a nonalcoholic beer worth celebrating
“What was supposed to be relaxing was having the opposite effect,” he says. Curious about what he’d feel like if he removed alcohol from his diet, he quickly found the answer: clearer, happier, calmer. He hasn’t had a drink in three years.