‘Sober October’: Booze-less booze booms

The Zero Proof movement is gaining popularity as more Americans turn to booze-less booze.

"Sober October" is fall’s new "Dry January" as non-alcoholic beverage shops and bars continue to appear across the U.S.

"When the pandemic hit and people were at home and there was no longer a reason not to pour a drink at noon," said Annie Grace, author of "This Naked Mind." Her book is about taking control back from alcohol. "All of a sudden people are looking around their lives and saying these things I thought alcohol was doing for me — helping me relax, helping me destress — it’s just not working."

The viral "Sober October" challenge seems to have emerged 10 years ago in Australia with folks quitting booze to raise money for charity. Three years ago, Joe Rogan told listeners of the "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast that he was taking part in the challenge, encouraging his audience to do the same. Since then, celebrities like Chrissy Teigen and Nikki Glaser have taken part. Teigen shared on Instagram that drinking "no longer serves [her] in ANY way."

A new Amazon study found that non-alcoholic drink demand increased 60% during the first half of 2021.

According to a 2020 study from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, people who experienced a lot of stress due to COVID-19 also drank "significantly more alcohol" than others surveyed who weren’t so stressed. Overall, the study found that about 60% of people surveyed said that they drank more than before the pandemic.

Learn more about Zero Proof here.