Sanjay Gupta: ‘Intermittent Sobriety’

September 24, 2024

Source: VICE

You’ve likely heard of intermittent fasting, but what about intermittent sobriety?

That’s the new buzz term tied to a growing sentiment around alcohol, particularly among Gen Z, according to CNN’s Sanjay Gupta. The idea behind intermittent sobriety is just treating drinking more like a once-in-a-while treat than a weekly—or, for some, daily—activity.

According to one survey earlier this year, 41% of Americans—and 61% of Gen Z—are looking to cut back on drinking. Like with the California sober trend of a few years ago, people are essentially trying to develop a more positive relationship with drugs.

When these sober-curious individuals hit the town, they might instead opt for increasingly trendy mocktails or non-alcoholic beers. Non-alcoholic drink sales have risen about 30% annually over the last few years, with sales expected to hit nearly a billion dollars within the next two years.

Now, according to CNN, intermittent sobriety is not complete sobriety. In other words, people aren’t just boycotting alcohol altogether—68% of those surveyed admitted to still drinking, and 93% of those who purchase non-alcoholic beverages still purchase regular alcohol, too.

“People are quite willing to go cold turkey, but they’re increasingly headed that way,” Gupta said.

While fully eliminating alcohol would likely be the best choice (scientists recently debunked the myth that moderate drinking is healthy), cutting back on frequency is probably a step in the right direction.

“Also, it’s important to point out that some of these non-alcoholic drinks still do have some amount of alcohol—0.5% versus 5-12%,” Gupta said. Not only that, many still contain plenty of the other unhealthy ingredients in alcoholic drinks, such as simple syrup.