The new sobriety: celebrities such as Lana Del Rey, Ben Affleck or Demi Lovato no longer drink alcohol

Although alcohol continues to be the darling of drugs, more and more celebrities are turning their backs on it. The list of celebrities advocating for abstinence is endless and continues to grow year after year: Eminem, Anne Hathaway, Pharrell Williams, Naomi Campbell, Lewis Hamilton, Elle MacPherson, Ben Affleck, Demi Lovato, Cara Delevingne, Lana Del Rey, Kit Harrington, Miley Cyrus, Daniel Radcliffe, Eva Mendes, Andy Murray, Tom Hardy, Gisele Bündchen, Florence Welch, Bella Hadid, Adele, Megan Fox, Kendrick Lamar.

For these new teetotalers, sobriety is something worth toasting to, whether with craft mocktails in stylish bars at 15 euros a glass, at yoga and nature retreats, or even at morning dance parties for those who don't need to sleep like logs after a night of partying.

Sobriety is definitely worth a toast, with crafted 'mocktails' in elegant bars

On a personal note, each celebrity has explained their personal journey. Anne Hathaway, for instance, has shared that she feels much better when she doesn't drink. For the star of The Devil Wears Prada, being sober has changed her life. Chris Martin, the composer, pianist, and guitarist of Coldplay, has come to the conclusion that drinking alters his music. “For some, it enhances. In my view, it doesn't,” he stated. As for Lana Del Rey, she was addicted to alcohol from the ages of 13 to 18, although she has been sober for a long time now. “That's why they sent me to a boarding school, to get me sober. I used to drink a lot, every day, even by myself. It seemed 'cool' to me. Much of what I wrote in my album Born To Die is about those wild days,” she acknowledges.

Finally, Lewis Hamilton has admitted to drinking since he was 16 years old and experiencing devastating hangovers. “I would suffer for several days, sometimes three or four,” he quantifies in an interview. The English Formula 1 driver acknowledges that alcohol has harmed his mental health by increasing the pressure he feels before races. “Since I stopped, I feel so much better, with more clarity. I also sleep incredibly better than before,” he confesses.

Other celebrities admit that they have stopped drinking to preserve their personal image and not scare away sponsors, given that they sometimes experience transformations similar to that of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that are later immortalized on social media. Not even Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) declares himself immune. “When I'm drunk, I'm one of those people who change,” he warns.

However, and despite the fact that no other drug has as many advocates among the well-thinking people as alcohol, the number of drinkers has been declining in recent years. Some experts dare to point out some possible causes. On the one hand, alcohol has lost its reputation for being healthy, now that the main dietitian-nutritionist organizations in the world have ruled out that moderate drinking benefits cardiovascular health, as alcohol is a vasodilator.

Some spirits, such as tequila or vodka, have resorted in recent years to the same strategy as the wine industry to win over a part of public opinion. However, nowadays almost no one disputes that drinking alcohol is not good for health in any amount, as the harms far outweigh the alleged benefits. “There is no safe dose, as alcohol is behind 200 diseases,” emphasizes dietitian-nutritionist Griselda Herrero, co-author with Cristina Andrades of Psychonutrition (ArcoPress), a book that has just reached its seventh edition.

According to Herrero, it is completely true that the polyphenols in red wine have an antioxidant effect, “although it is also true that wine not only contains polyphenols, but also alcohol,” she points out. In addition, the polyphenols in wine can be found in the grape skin and in many other fruits and vegetables, without the need to raise your elbow, argues the director of the Seville-based center Norte Salud Nutrición. Something similar happens with beer: although barley provides some interesting vitamins, these can also be found in breakfast cereals, barley flour, etc.

Currently, alcohol is the most consumed psychoactive substance in Spain

Currently, alcohol is the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in Spain, according to the Survey on Alcohol and Drugs in Spain (EDADES 2022) conducted on a population aged 15 to 64. Young people start using alcohol at an earlier age (at 16.5 years on average) than any other drug, including tobacco (16.6) or cannabis (18.3).

However, this trend may be changing as members of Generation Z (those born between the late 1990s and mid-2000s) consume much less alcohol, not only compared to millennials but also compared to baby boomers, their parents. According to some research, current young people and teenagers limit alcohol consumption to special events and moments, unlike previous generations who also drank during the week. The backdrop is a greater concern for a healthy lifestyle and also the fear of gaining weight, considering the high number of calories provided by alcohol.

The trend of going dry, or abstaining from alcohol

Despite the commendable act of abstaining from a drug that kills more than three million people worldwide each year, many experts detect a kind of trend in the wave of celebrities who have recently embraced sobriety. “It's becoming trendy to say on social media: I also don't drink alcohol,” notes Herrero. “It's similar with those who proclaim 'I'm following the Ayurvedic diet' or any other similar trend,” he continues. In other words, it's a new way to appear chic on Instagram or TikTok. Other specialists point out that celebrities serve as a clear example of how easy it is to transition from moderate consumption to problematic consumption. “There are people who have several beers or glasses of wine a day and consider their consumption to be moderate and completely normal, even if it is actually high,” highlights Herrero. Just in case, the wine industry has already started launching non-alcoholic wines or those with low alcohol content (below 5%). On the other hand, non-alcoholic beer continued to increase its market share in 2023, growing by 3.5%, unlike global beer sales which declined by 0.7%, although less than the 5.9% decrease recorded by spirits in Spain.