Almost as many people said they had attempted to go teetotal at the start of this year as in any of the previous 10 years

It is set to be the driest January in living memory. Drinks sales in pubs and bars have plunged. Rising numbers of people are drinking low or no-alcohol. And new data indicates that even older people are joining teens and twentysomethings by giving up booze. With three days to go, this has been a grim month for publicans.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) says pubs must adapt quickly by stocking more “lo-no” options and opening their doors more regularly to give community groups a cosy welcome on winter days.

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Market researcher CGA tracks drinks sales in pubs and bars every week and in the last fortnight sales have been down by at least 7% compared with last year, with a 19% fall in sales of spirits last week.

The bad weather and the economic climate are partly to blame, but the company’s managing director Jonathan Jones said Dry January was also “making this a hard month for pubs and bars”.

  • @thehatfoxEnglish
    6•10 months ago

    The tendency of so-called Gen Z to avoid drugs and alcohol has been documented for years, to the annoyance of some of their redder-nosed elders, and now about a quarter of under-25s do not drink at all, due to rising awareness of alcohol’s effects on health and the fear of drunken exploits being posted on social media.

    Even if the cost of living and the climate both drastically improve, it looks like there could be deeper troubles ahead for pubs and bars unless they can find new ways to adapt. I don’t think it’s people being dry just for January they need to worry about longer term.