Life News
How many Americans are really doing Dry January? Two surveys, two very different answers
Dry January keeps growing in the US, but how big it is depends on who is counting. On 14 January WYPR, Baltimore's public radio station, devoted its Midday programme to the trend, citing a CivicScience survey in which more than half of US adults over 21 who drink regularly said they intended to stop drinking for at least January. The image caption put the figure at 56%. Two physicians, Dr Sarah Andrews and Dr Niharika Khanna, joined to discuss what happens to the body and mental health during a month without alcohol.
On 23 January the convenience-store trade body's NACS Daily News reported preliminary research from Numerator: over one in four alcohol buyers planned to take part. Of those, 43% were first-timers. The most common reasons were a healthier and more financially stable start (47%), proving they could abstain (32%) and saving money (30%). Coffee and tea (43%) and still water (33%) were the top replacements.
“signaling a sustained lifestyle shift rather than a temporary post-holiday reset” — Numerator, via NACS Daily News
How each outlet framed it
- WYPR — a health angle: what a month off alcohol does to the body and mind, plus local alcohol-free events.
- NACS Daily News — a shop-floor angle: what people buy instead, and alcohol's falling share of drink sales, from 46% in January 2022 to 41% in January 2025.
Where the numbers differ: The two figures measure different groups. CivicScience asked regular drinkers about intentions; Numerator looked at alcohol buyers. NACS's headline also mentions 46% returning to alcohol, but the article body gives 42% as undecided about returning and 13% planning to keep cutting back.