Who is ‘dry January’ for, exactly?

The challenge, which was originally set by the charity Alcohol Change, is to abstain from alcohol for all 31 days of January, writes Ian Hamilton

It isn’t something for anyone dependent on alcohol, physically or psychologically (PA Archive)

Now in its 11th year, “dry January” has become as much of an annual fixture as carol singing and decorating the Christmas tree.

The challenge, which was originally set up by the charity Alcohol Change, is to abstain from alcohol for all 31 days of January. The charity registered 130,000 participants last year, although this is an underestimate of the actual number that take up the challenge but don’t bother to register.

Few would doubt that it does little harm to go without alcohol, particularly after the festive period – which will see many of us drink more alcohol than usual with family and work parties. But it is worth thinking about who exactly “dry January” is for?