New TikTok trend Damp Drinking wants to cure your Dry January

We have all been there... waking up to a hangover so bad that you promise yourself and your friends that you won't be drinking again. But the next thing you know, you are sitting in a club or pouring alcohol for yourself because it was your friend's birthday, or after work your manager invited you to a 'Car-o-bar', and you couldn't say no. 

What may start as 'I drink only socially' or 'I just drink with my friends to accompany them, I'm not an alcoholic' may soon turn into weekly addiction, and next thing you know, you are drinking more so than ever. To stop this binging, social media has come up with what they call Damp Drinking. 
 
What is Damp Drinking? 

If you are one of those persons after that New Year party who decided to not drink again or thought that this year you will try the "Dry January" trend, and keep falling back to your lifestyle again and again, try Dry January's more lenient cousin, Damp Drinking. 

• Moreover, Dry January hasn't been that successful of a trend anyway. According to a poll of 1,844 UK Vivino (a non-alcoholic drink company), only 5% planned to complete Dry January this year, while 27% are exploring the Damp January route.

VIRAL: The concept of Damp Drinking; or if you are following it this month, it's Damp January for you; has already taken the online world by storm, with the hashtag #dampjanuary reaching 3 million views on TikTok. But it's not just confined to social media trends.

The Drink Business explains Damp Drinking might mean different things to different people, depending on your current drinking habits. So it means drinking it at a moderate level, rather than completely cutting off your alcohol and then getting into the spiral of 'binge drinking'. 

Is Gen Z drinking less? Gen Z is trying to adopt a healthier and sober lifestyle by avoiding alcohol intake. According to Civic Science research published in 2022, 37 per cent of Gen Z aged between 21-24 in the US were either very or somewhat curious about a sober lifestyle, and young millennials (25-34) were the most likely out of any age group to say they were drinking less now.   

Why is Damp Drinking gaining popularity?  As mentioned above, since adopting a sober lifestyle is rising, so is the Damp Drinking trend. 

Remember that when we attach a moral value to alcohol use and strive to abstain from it for a prolonged period of time, it becomes more difficult to do so, and you may end up drinking more. So, moderation is key.

Also remember: 'Moderate drinking' is broad, defined as anything up to 14 drinks a week for men, and seven drinks a week for women. But, the World Health Organization (WHO) has now published a statement in The Lancet Public Health saying that when it comes to alcohol consumption, there is no safe amount that does not affect health.

READ MORE: Can you drink 2 pegs of alcohol in a day and be safe? WHO says NO