Dry January doesn't have to mean sober January — at least for the 21 percent of participants turning to cannabis or CBD to make it through the month.
According to a survey by Civic Science, 67 percent of Dry January participants, or those choosing to abstain from alcohol consumption for the month of January, reported they are replacing alcohol with something — whether that be mocktails and alcohol-free beers or sodas and seltzers.
The largest share, 21 percent, said they would enjoy cannabis or non-psychoactive CBD in place of alcohol. The preference for substitutes wasn't uniform across all respondents. Cannabis was the most popular substitute among the youngest respondents with 34 percent of 21- to 24-year-olds preferring it. Among the 55 and older crowd, by contrast, just 9 percent reported they'd enjoy cannabis or CBD instead of alcohol, and 54 percent reported they'd stay the course without any support.
Dry January's Growing Popularity
Interest in Dry January has climbed over the recent years. At the close of 2022, about 41 percent of respondents in a separate survey by Civic Science reported they were "somewhat to very likely" to participate in Dry January come 2023. That's in-line with pre-pandemic data for the start of 2020, but slightly behind 2022 responses, which rebounded after a lag in interest during the 2021 pandemic year.
As with the preference for cannabis, interest in Dry January tends to vary by age — and younger generations are leading the charge. For the year of 2023, more than half of the youngest respondents, aged 21 to 24 years old, said they were "somewhat to very likely" to participate versus just 41 percent of those 55 and older.
Studies suggest social media is contributing to a growing reluctance to drink with younger generations fearful of consequences if their drunk escapades are documented on the internet. According to 2019 research from Google, 49 percent of Generation Z reports their image online is "always at the back of their mind when they go out socializing and drinking." Some 76 percent reported it is important to have control of "all aspects of their life at all times," according to the research.
Alysa McCall, director of conservation outreach and staff scientist at Polar Bears International, joined Cheddar to discuss the ongoing fight to protect polar bears from extinction while world leaders gathered to discuss the climate crisis. McCall explained her organization's mission "to ensure the long term survival of polar bears by helping ensure their arctic sea ice habitat remains intact." McCall said she hopes actionable steps are taken after the UN climate summit to mitigate the crisis and not just more promises.
Moderna reported a massive miss on revenue in its Q3 earnings, taking in $5 billion versus the expected $6.21 billion despite sales of the COVID-19 vaccine. The pharmaceutical giant's stock dropped sharply on the news.
Carlo and Baker discuss the fallout from Tuesday's election and the flashing warning sign for Dems ahead of the midterms. Also, a big 2A case at the Supreme Court, Aaron Rodgers has Covid and is in big trouble, and a first for the MCU.
Carlo and Baker discuss the election results across the country, including a Republican comeback in Virginia -- and possibly NJ -- plus the CDC gives the go-ahead for child vaccinations, Atlanta wins the World Series and more.
Dr. Julie Morita, executive vice president of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, joined Cheddar to discuss the CDC advisory panel recommending the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5-11. "We've seen many millions of children getting sick, many hospitalized, many dying because of COVID," Morita said. "And so now we have a new tool that we can use to keep our children safe." She also noted that hesitancy among parents about vaccinating their children will likely fade in time as the childhood vaccine program gets underway.
Matthew Oxenford, Analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, joins a special edition of Cheddar Climate, where he discusses the responsibilities big businesses across multiple sectors have when it comes to combating the effects of climate change around the world.
President Joe Biden introduced the Global Methane Pledge on the second day of the United Nations climate summit. The U.S. and the European Union will lead the way when it comes to methane emissions reductions, and close to 100 nations have also signed on. It's seen as the fastest way to slow down global warming and keep nations on track toward meeting the goal of keeping warming just 1.5 degrees Celsius above late 1800s atmospheric levels. Dr. Sweta Chakraborty, U.S. President of climate-focused startup 'We Don't Have Time' joins Cheddar Climate to discuss the importance of the Biden administration's methane regulations -- and the importance of U.S. leadership when it comes to climate issues.
John Paul Mejia, the national spokesperson for the Sunrise Movement, joined Cheddar to talk about what the youth activist group wants to see from President Joe Biden as he attends the COP26 climate summit. Mejia admonished the president for having little to deliver on his own climate agenda domestically while at the conference. "We need the president to follow through with his promises because, frankly, it's a matter of life or death not only for communities here in the United States but also those looking to us around the world," he said.
With COP26 kicking off, roughly 120 world leaders and delegates are in Glasgow, Scotland to hold climate talks this week. As experts continue to warn about the dangers of climate change, ESG investing is more important than ever.
Georges Archibald, Head of Apex Americas at Apex Group joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Roughly 20,000 heads of state, diplomats, and activists will gather in person starting Oct. 31 to address the threat of climate change. The summit, known as COP26, is seen as a crucial step in getting the crisis under control as scientists warn global warming is only getting worse. Carroll Muffett, President and CEO of the Center for International Environmental Law, joined Cheddar to explain the goals of COP26 and why it's so crucial for the world leaders to step up and make new, aggressive climate commitments.
