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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think go sober for October doesn't help Cancer

48 replies

Mumcouchtotri · 29/09/2016 07:39

Isn't it just like dry January or no drinking September and people go all month not drinking and thinking about drink.

Then come the next month they binge and probably do their body more damage.

Long term changes is what is needed, not this quick fix crash diet stuff IMO.

OP posts:

Bibs2014 · 29/09/2016 08:29

Sorry but I disagree. Me, DH and my friend did Dry January in 2013 and it changed our drinking habits dramatically and we both have never gone back to drinking the way we used to.

Pinkheart5915 · 29/09/2016 08:31

I don't see the problem with it the, it does raise money for the cancer cause and I think sometimes when you've lost somebody you just want to do something to give you something to concentrate on.

It does raise a lot of money for the cancer cause so it's not something I can complain about.
Even if just a few people think bout what they drink and the connection between alcohol and cancer then what a bonus

shovetheholly · 29/09/2016 08:31

Most people I know who have done this do it in a sponsored way - so the donation to charity is the benefit.

Reducing alcohol consumption, or being aware of what you consume, is also seen as increasingly important in the battle against getting cancer too - cutting down intake does really reduce your risk. So even if the behaviour does revert to an unhealthy norm, it cements that link in the public mind too, which is important when you are doing public health campaigns. (I say this as someone who drinks too much on an evening out and who is trying to reduce it because I have become more aware of how it's putting my long term health at risk).

RitchyBestingFace · 29/09/2016 08:31

I agree with the 'awareness' point Alice - I think I've ranted on here many times about the pointlessness of certain Breast Cancer 'awareness' tactics.

FWIW though the OP is BU - any break from alcohol is good for your liver and helps it recover. As is awareness that alcohol is a key factor in cancer - which many people overlook. Alcohol consumption (and at low levels) is strongly associated with breast cancer for example.

phillipp · 29/09/2016 08:45

It's meant to be sponsored or give the money you normally spend on booze to charity. It's also meant to make the people doing it think about how much they drink the rest of the year and form better habits.

The fact that a lot of people go back to their normal level of drinking, doesn't mean it doesn't work for some.

trafalgargal · 29/09/2016 08:46

I don't drink anymore .....well drinkers say I don't drink. I might have a Baileys once or twice in a month or a single beer so I don't see myself as teetotal but I'm told "Traf doesn't drink" . Well a glass /bottle of wine every evening isn't my style so stoptober would be wasted on me but I think it's a good thing whether it raises money or awareness for charity or not as many people have got into the habit of drinking every day and breaking the habit tends to make you realize how much you are actually consuming and if it is affecting you physically . If you find you've got lots of spare money or your skin is clearer , you've lost some weight or you just feel better in the mornings and by making drink a treat rather than a routine you enjoy those drinks more and it makes you take better informed choices ......then why not.

danTDM · 29/09/2016 08:48

Someone scaling a building is more worthy to sponser than someone giving up something they enjoy for a month? I disagree.

Also, giving up booze for a month you are likely to lose weight, look better, have more energy etc your liver gets a break. It is simply rubbish to say it makes no difference.

Giving up coffee, cake, chocolate, bread, whatever, for a month, will make a big difference to your health. Just as swimming, running, things you perceive as worthy, will also make a big difference after a month.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 29/09/2016 08:52

I would have thought stopping drinking for a month is one of the least spurious things you can do to raise awareness for cancer given the link between alcohol and cancer.

There was some suggestion that people who took part in dry January did reduce their drinking afterwards. It's why Public Health England were encouraging people to take part in it. Most people that I know that have done it have had the same experience as Bibs.

Youarenotprepared · 29/09/2016 09:03

It's far better than "brave the shave" that seems to universally upset a lot of cancer sufferers.

shovetheholly · 29/09/2016 09:21

Do people really sponsor things only if someone is making a huge effort or pulling a dramatic stunt?

I just assume that these things are donations to charity - the person doesn't really have to 'earn' it. The event is just an excuse to get people to give a small amount of cash to a worthy cause.

specialsubject · 29/09/2016 09:42

I am teetotal - i dont like the taste. Will someone sponsor me?

I doubt it...

danTDM · 29/09/2016 09:47

No, they won't. They won't sponser children either...
Find something, get in the spirit of things.
Coffee? Running for a month? sponsored silence maybe?

shovetheholly · 29/09/2016 09:55

Bloody hell, they always say wealthy people are mean!!

Jellybean83 · 29/09/2016 10:05

I think a lot of people do it because their own drinking habits are getting a bit out of control, I did read the dry January thread on here and that seemed to be the case, it was more of a 'let's see if I can do it', the thought process being if they can go a month they can drastically change their drinking habits for life. These campaigns raise money for a good cause and they do change people's attitude towards their drinking, to me that can only be a good thing.

JenLindleyShitMom · 29/09/2016 10:14

I worry about anyone who considers giving up alcohol for a month a challenge! But going by my FB newsfeed and how many people seem to be requesting sponsorship for this it looks like this awareness is massively needed. Very worrying. The U.K. Has a terrible alcohol culture, I suppose any month where a heavy drinker isn't drinking is good.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 29/09/2016 11:37

What bugs me about the advert is the suggestion that it is somehow amazing or unusual to go a whole month without a hangover! Surely that is normal for many people?

It seems to me that the advert suggests that everyone who drinks, does so to excess, all the time, and has lots of hangovers - and that is certainly not the case amongst my circle of friends and acquaintances.

I suspect that most people can stop after one or two drinks, on most occasions, and don't often drink to the point where they are going to be hung over the next day. Even my 19 year old student son doesn't drink that much during the week, though he will have a big night at the weekend.

shovetheholly · 29/09/2016 11:38

It is the case amongst mine - most people are hungover at least once or twice a week.

milkyface · 29/09/2016 11:43

It's just another way to raise money.

Ffs any money given to cancer research is a good thing.

You could say well how does sitting in a bath of baked beans help whatever charity it was - well the actual sitting in the bath doesn't it's the sponsor money.

Don't take part if you don't like it, Christ.

danTDM · 29/09/2016 11:46

Well said Milky.

If I see another 'I worry about people...'I drink probably 12 units...'

Really? So what, we don't care if you don't drink, it is not about you, it's a way to make money for Cancer.

milkyface · 29/09/2016 11:49

I took part when I was bloody pregnant and obviously not drinking last year at work because everyone was doing it so I jokingly joined in and donated some cash. I don't think the actual not drinking is v serious I think it's just a good by product of the fund raising really.

JenLindleyShitMom · 29/09/2016 11:50

If I see another 'I worry about people...'I drink probably 12 units...'

You'll what?

It was a comment as part of a discussion around drinking. It was nothing to do with the sponsorship.

milkyface · 29/09/2016 11:54

I really don't Worry about what other people drink unless they are my family or close friends. Why should I? Me worrying about someone else's health isn't going to make them stop drinking.

Just like I don't expect anyone else to worry about my health if they saw me eating junk food or whatever.

I worry about people's children who are essentially powerless when they're fed crap or inhale smoke 24. Hrs of the day, but again I can't do anything about it.

If anything maybe going sober for a month will open some people's eyes to the fact they don't need to drink as much as they do, that's got to be positive? It's definitely doing more than people worrying about strangers health does!

Annie592 · 29/09/2016 12:20

Giving up drinking for a month can be incredibly hard- (when I was drinking I found it really hard- much much harder than I would have found running a marathon- not that I was even selfless enough to be doing it for charity at the time, I just wanted to see if I could do it). And yes I completely agree with anyone that says if you struggle to give up for a month you may have a problem- I did have a problem, and so do a huge number of people when it comes to drinking, alcohol is addictive after all. I have no idea why some people can drink 'a bit' and then stop with ease and some people can't. But I can't stand the smugness when people roll their eyes at others who DO struggle- in those cases giving up IS an achievement. Surely any money for charity is a good thing anyway? I do like the idea of just giving whatever money you would have spent on alcohol that month to charity that was suggested above.

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