It may feel a little early to be talking about Dry January but we wanted to get the conversation started to help you get the most out of the campaign in its tenth anniversary year!

Ten years have taught us here at Alcohol Change UK a thing or two about the huge benefits of taking part in the campaign.

As well as giving participants some obvious benefits like more energy, better sleep, a fuller wallet, and improved mood, it can also lead to longer-term behaviour change, with research showing that 72% of participants having lower AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) scores six months after the challenge.

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows that 8,974 people died of alcohol-specific causes in the UK in 2020 – an 18.6% increase when compared to 2019, the highest year-on-year increase since the ONS started collecting this data in 2001.

So, helping people in your community to drink more healthily has never been more important.

2021 was our biggest year yet for Dry January. But with your help we can make it go further. Dry January isn’t about encouraging people to stop drinking forever, it’s about helping them to learn new skills to manage their drinking.

To help get you started, we’ve created a simple handbook with information and advice on running Dry January in your community.