This is sobering news.
Experts are concerned about a possible Dry January trap, saying it can cause unhealthy withdrawal symptoms in participants who may not realize they have a drinking problem.
“Events like Dry January don’t work for everyone because a lot of people don’t realize they’re addicted to alcohol,” UK-based addiction specialist Lester Morse told the Daily Mail, adding that even a small amounts of alcoholic beverages can “cause addiction in some people.”
“What many people don’t know about alcohol withdrawal is that there are serious risks if you are addicted to alcohol. In some cases, withdrawal can even result in death.”
While Dry January can improve sleep quality, induce weight loss and increase energy, alcohol withdrawal symptoms include anxiety, headache, nausea, vomiting, insomnia, shaky hands and sweating.
University of York Associate Professor Ian Hamilton told the Daily Mail there is concern that, because dry January is temporary, people will go back to binge drinking once February rolls around.
“We don’t know what people do once they get to the end of January, I’m afraid many will think that after abstaining for a month then they have a free pass for the rest of the year and can drink as much as they want they like,” he said.
As one New Yorker previously told The Post: “What’s the point of just doing it for a month? And then you will go back to her?”
The expert advice comes after the US surgeon general advised that a cancer warning should be printed on alcohol bottles.
According to the report, alcohol has been linked to 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths each year in the US.
“Alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, behind tobacco and obesity, increasing the risk of at least seven types of cancer,” Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s office said in a statement.
Amidst the booming sober-curious trend among young people, mocktail hotspots have popped up all over New York City for people interested in forgoing booze beyond dry January.
“Now menus are more comprehensive every month of the year, not just in January,” Hilary Sheinbaum, an author and founder of GoingDry.co, previously told The Post.
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