Soooo, I was going to dedicate this week’s letter to how to enjoy Dry January without ghosting your friends, but instead I did some digging.
Turns out Dry January was started by a Brit who woke up to a “ferocious hangover” 9 years ago and decided to quit. Alcohol Change UK grabbed the baton from there, trademarking Dry January® and launching an app. And YES, they are doing all kinds of good campaigning on the virtues of alcohol abstinence.
But there’s also this:
Everyday Brits are seeing massive increases in alcohol duties and taxes, including ABV “Strength-Based Tax” in 2023
UK pubs paid almost £100k on alcoholic drinks taxes last year as Chancellor was urged to freeze duty (source: LBC UK)
209 pubs closed in the first 6 months of 2025 due to the “cost of drinking crisis" (source: UK Taxpayers' Alliance)
Though not entirely attributed to this one movement, Alcohol Change UK plainly supports price increases in their policy solutions: “Raising the price consumers pay for alcohol will, on average across the population, reduce consumption…” – and just like Prohibition supporters, lots of people agree that making it punishingly difficult to access alcohol is the cure.
So, in an effort to squash this harmful trend in its tax-gulping tracks, This is Marin will be running it’s own campaign, called “Moderation in January! It’s the sensible, sustainable choice!” or something like that. Check out the latest post to see my entirely AI-generated propaganda posters.
And below, check out some fun ways to ditch Dry January, support local, and enjoy responsibly all year round!
Also, learn how Marin treated Prohibiton as a law to work around, complete with rum running operations in West Marin:
Cheers!
Kim Neumann
5 FUN WAYS TO SKIP DRY JANUARY IN MARIN
(all 100% suitable for date night ❤️)
See events here.
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Thanks for reading,
Kim
Kim Neumann, Publisher
