Tomorrow, February 1st, will see Dry January end for many – but should you consider a dry February and staying off the drink for longer?
Consumer Correspondent with the Irish Times Conor Pope told Newstalk Breakfast that one year’s Dry January has since turned into a dry lifestyle for him and his wife.
“If you’d said to me three years ago that I’d be talking to you about this particular topic, I would have laughed in your face,” he said.
“Because in 2022, myself and my wife decided to do Dry January – and we haven’t drank any alcohol since.”
Mr Pope said that the couple had taken on the challenge following a “particularly boozy Christmas” but felt no need to break their streak at the start of February.
By March that year he said, neither of them had any interest in going back on the drink.
People drinking alcohol, © PA Archive/PA Images
According to Mr Pope, he has seen a range of health benefits in the two years he has remained sober since.
“It means that on a Saturday morning, I can get up at half seven in the morning, or eight o’clock in the morning and go to the gym,” he said.
“Now, I know some people will be rolling their eyes when they hear that, but I actively like going to the gym.
“So, both of us became much healthier – and this is a byproduct of it by the way, this wasn’t the design.
“We lost a ton of weight because it’s not just the alcohol that puts on the weight, it’s the inevitable snacking that comes along with it.”
‘Then there was the cash’
Mr Pope said his blood pressure has also come down by “a good 15 points” since he stopped drinking.
“So, there’s the health considerations, there’s the lifestyle considerations – then, of course, there was the cash” he said.
“If I say five bottles of wine a week between two adults, spread out over the course of a year, you’re looking at the guts of three grand.
“And I’m not talking about buying Château Latour or Pietersburg at a €12 bottle of wine.
“Now, I have to tell you, I have no idea where that cash is, but I can tell you it’s not in my bank account.”
Mr Pope said he does miss the occasional glass of wine, but that he still manages to have the craic while sober.
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Main image: Alcohol shelf in liquor store or supermarket. Woman buying a bottle of red wine and looking at alcoholic drinks in shop.