Why alcohol free drinks might be just what we need

Lockdown has been hard. Adjusting to normality – or the new normality – hasn’t been easy either.

Covid-19 lockdowns with furloughs and fewer options on weekends have pushed people more and more into drinking at home, raising the importance of alcohol free drinks.

Being isolated is never fun, in fact, it can be fairly miserable under conditions that were consistently found throughout the COVID lockdowns. People couldn’t go out, see friends, furloughed workers didn’t even have the option to feel productive while locked in at home. Boredom was rife throughout the national lockdowns and boredom can lead to dangerous habits like drinking. Studies have found that over a quarter of people upped their drinking through the lockdowns.

And when pubs opened, despite attempts to keep drinking capped, excitement took hold and many, even those who hadn’t been drinking while in lockdown were now in pubs and bars on an almost daily basis.

Business owners and entrepreneurs must remain focused in order to succeed and with drinking on the up-and-up it’s getting harder to stay on track – not to mention all the health risks associated with regular consumption of alcohol. With more and more options becoming available for alcohol-free drinks, they may be a great option that can help us loosen up a bit while curbing alcoholism trends that lockdowns have exacerbated.

Why go 0%?

We’ve all heard it many times over, alcohol-free drinks are boring and you can’t properly loosen up with them. Studies have shown that more people want to make the switch to alcohol-free drinking every now and then. And why not, the prospect of having a good night out with your friends, catch up, laugh, and then in the morning, there are no headaches or ill mornings sounds fantastic.

There are more and more alcohol-free drinks being made with as much care put into them as their alcoholic equivalents, whether that’s a 0.0% lager or a non-alcoholic cocktail (mocktail). These drinks also benefit from lower calories due to the removal of alcohol. With drinks like these getting better and better you can get that genuine taste without having to worry about a taxi home.

Alcohol can have serious effects on mental health, making that switch to alcohol-free drinking, even if only a couple of times a week can do wonders for your health and wellbeing. Success relies on a strong mindset and alcohol can have a huge effect on that. Alcohol-free drinks make it easy to go out with friends or colleagues, join in and have fun, but will keep you away from the negative effects of drinking later on in the night and the morning after.

What else can you do?

If there is a stigma around alcohol-free drinking in your friend group, be open about your support and reasoning for drinking non-alcoholic. You never know, many suffer in silence, and one of your friends who wants to make that switch but can’t quite alone may feel more encouraged to try drinking alcohol-free every now and then alongside you.

Talking about alcoholism, as awkward as it may seem at first, maybe exactly what’s needed to convince a friend or colleague to try out alcohol-free drinks or move towards quitting altogether. With the resources available it’s easier than ever to move away from alcoholism. It can be a long process, but the hardest step is often the first – you can help with that.

From a business perspective, entrepreneurs can enhance their brands with the promotion of alcohol-free drinking which could of course lead to business sponsorships and collaborations, but more importantly, if this is something that you feel passionate about you could spread awareness for a cause that has the potential to change -even save- lives.