Fancy a drink? Three easy ways to do Damp January

Not a fan of Dry Jan? Or perhaps you had good intentions but you’ve fallen off the wagon.  And no wonder, January’s depressing enough without swearing off all of life’s pleasures. But after the excesses of the festive season, most of us could do with at least cutting down. 

So why not try Damp January instead and simply drink less? Sticking to the low-risk drinking guidelines of having no more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days, with several drink-free days, will minimise the health risks. To put that into context, 14 units is either 6 pints of 4% ABV (alcohol by volume) beer, or 6 x 175ml glasses of 13% wine, or 14 x 25ml shots of 40% spirit.

Here are three ways to help you stick to 14 units a week, or less, if you find it a struggle…

Get tracking

Binge drinking is the most harmful way to consume alcohol. Government guidelines define a binge as having 6+ units (women) or 8+ units (men) in a single session, so even if we are sticking to 14 units a week it’s perfectly possible to binge if we drink them all at once! The booze maths tells us that spreading our units as advised works out to a maximum of 2 drinks per day on a maximum of three days in the week (that’s if we’re drinking wine or pints), so the other four days will be “DFDs” or drink-free days.

The best way to ensure you are getting your DFDs in is with a tracker like the NHS ‘Drink Free Days’ app. On Sunday, have a think about the week ahead, decide which days are best designated as DFDs according to your social plans, then, using the app, track your progress. You may have to adjust later in the week but awareness is half the battle.

Go for lower strength

 To eke out those units even further, seek out lower ABV versions of your favourite tipples. Wine fans should check the % alcohol on the label as they can vary widely. For example, Tesco’s Por do Sol Vinho Verde is 9% (one bottle is 6.8 units) compared to their Pinot Grigio at 12.5% (one bottle is 9.4 units). Lower ABV red wines are harder to find in the supermarket so purchasing online is a better bet. Drydrinker.com has a great selection, including a mixed case of McGuigan 7% mid-alcohol wines if you can’t decide between red, white or rose. 

As for beer, the quality and taste of lower-alcohol options have vastly improved in the last few years. Top of The Telegraph’s taste test for beers under 3% was Small Beer Session Pale Ale at 2.5%, available at Ocado and Waitrose.

Change the way you socialise

Most of our socialising revolves around meeting up to eat and drink. It’s not easy to cut down on drinking if you are still going to the pub or meeting friends for cocktails. See this as a chance to rethink how you socialise. You may want to see more films, join a choir or meet friends for an evening class instead.