Stop-start drinking is not the answer

Not my words, but the opening lines of the Macmillan Go Sober for October campaign’s TV commercial. After 20 years of many late-night differences of opinion little gets me vexed, but those words almost cooked my goose.

I confess to having enjoyed more than one occasion involving alcohol in the past month — all hangover-free — yet still miraculously finding the time and energy to organise a craft beer festival, travel 450 miles to and from London in the same day, interview 20 new employees, welcome 7,500 thirsty university students, satisfy my wife’s command to clear the garage, housebreak a 12-week-old puppy, and fluff another round of golf.

It is easy to frown upon a campaign that implies it is better to stop and start than drink alcohol in moderation, since this will only result in promoting an unhealthy attitude towards consumption, and a reduced tolerance to the amber brew.

Social media channels were peppered with people spelling out their intentions to cram in the cocktails leading up to 1 October then nobly abstain for a month, before undoubtedly sharing stories of a celebratory blowout four weeks later.

Today’s pub is not about excess and hangovers. Publicans strive to make the alehouse ambience the addictive element, not the alcohol.

A more responsible attitude to drinking exists nowadays too, with fewer adults boozing, consuming less when they do, and the percentage of those drinking to harmful levels continuing to fall.

The beer revival movement has cultivated taste buds, with customers choosing quality over quantity and often stopping at just one well-crafted drink paired with a great plate of food.

Let’s promote abstaining from drinking on sofas in front of the TV instead. Get out of the house and step into the pub, where zero-alcohol alternatives, lower-strength beers, and smaller-sized wine glasses are available. A place where you are less likely to lose track of consumption, and responsible management decide whether or not you really should have one for the ditch.

Instead of ‘soberheros’ Britain needs ‘pubheros’ this October, to support the many licensed retailers across the land that raise millions of pounds for cancer (and other) charities — including Macmillan — every year.

Lee Price is the licensee of the Royal Pier, Aberystwyth​​