Alcohol-free November begins in Hungary

In England it is held in January or October, in Hungary November is the dry month, an initiative which tries to show the so-called risk drinkers what life is like without alcohol. The program will be held this year too in Hungary and the goal is to show people who drink alcohol on a daily basis how their health can change in one month, index.hu reports.

The idea of people becoming abstinent for a month originates from Great Britain. The campaign was started in 2013 by British charity Alcohol Concern with the aim of reducing the health problems caused by excessive alcohol consumption in the country. In the UK, January and October are the dry months instead of November, and in 2015 more than 2 million Britons have been involved in the action.

Thanks to the Blue Point Foundation, the initiative arrived to Hungary as well, in the form of a dry November.

The essence of the dry month is not the helping of alcoholics, but to target those who drink frequently, but not too much. A month of not consuming alcohol resulted for many people in a better night’s sleep, more energy, loss of weight, saving money, or more beautiful skin and hair. Research of the Royal Free Hospital in London shows that people taking part in dry January reported better concentration capability, sleep, decrease of cholesterol and blood glucose, lower blood pressure, and loss of weight.  According to Sussex University’s research, 72 per cent of dry January participants had reduced the consumption of alcohol in six months.

In Hungary, the first initiation was in 2014, but according to Ferenc Dávid, biopolitical expert at Blue Point, the movement first received a bigger attention in 2016. Since in Hungary there was no such campaign before, they announced a dry November similar to the British action dry October.