Beyond Temporary Sobriety: The Association Between Sobriety Campaign Completion and Intention to Quit Alcohol

Sobriety campaigns (e.g., Dry January (UK), Dry July (Australia), and Thailand's three-month sobriety campaign) have emerged as strategies to reduce alcohol use, with evidence suggesting sustained effects of such campaigns on drinking behavior for several months post-campaign. However, the relationship between campaign completion and intention to quit (a predictor of quitting behavior) remains underexplored. This study aims to examine the association between completing a sobriety campaign and intention to quit drinking. This is a pooled cross-sectional analysis of three waves of a nationally representative survey, using multivariate logistic regression. Intention to quit drinking was the dependent variable, and completion of the campaign (completely abstaining versus decrease in drinking) was the explanatory variable in the model, adjusting for demographic and drinking-related covariates. Overall, 12.6% of those completing the recent-year campaign expressed an intention to quit drinking. Completing the recent-year campaign was strongly associated with higher odds of intention to quit (adjusted OR 4.75; 95% CI, 3.17-7.34). The findings suggest that temporary sobriety campaigns may serve as an entry point for longer-term behavioral change. Policymakers should consider sobriety campaigns as a complementary strategy to reduce alcohol use alongside the WHO's recommended interventions.