Dry January: replacing the apéro ritual with CBD

Dry January was born in the United Kingdom in 2013 on the initiative of Alcohol Change UK, a charity that promotes more considered drinking. The starting idea was simple: propose a January without alcohol, on a voluntary basis, with no instruction and no judgement.

The campaign has been relayed in France under the name "Le Défi de Janvier" since 2020, carried by a collective of charities and healthcare professionals. That French relay popularised the approach among an audience that did not necessarily know the original British initiative.

The apéro is not just the drinking of alcohol; it is above all a social ritual: a pause, a recurring appointment, a transition between the day and the evening. Removing the alcohol without replacing the ritual often leaves a gap that is harder to sustain than the mere absence of alcohol itself.

It is precisely this observation that leads many participants in the Défi de Janvier to look for a substitute gesture, rather than simply "not drinking anything". A ritual that keeps the form — a glass, a shared moment, an atmosphere — but changes the content.

A CBD drink, an infusion or a soda, can reproduce some of the codes of the apéro: a glass to share, a dedicated moment, a pause in the evening. It does not recreate the effect of alcohol, and no health claim is authorised for a CBD product in France, according to the DGCCRF and the MILDECA.

That strict regulatory framework means that no CBD product may be presented as "relaxing", "anti-stress" or "good for sleep" on its label. The interest of the ritual lies above all in the gesture and the moment recreated, not in a promise of effect.

Our article on CBD coffee made at home offers another variation on this same principle: a pause ritual, rebuilt without alcohol.

The Défi de Janvier remains above all a personal undertaking, with no obligation as to outcome or fixed duration. Replacing the apéro with a CBD drink can help sustain the social ritual, without thereby reproducing the effects of alcohol on the body.

For anyone who has questions about their drinking beyond a single January, a conversation with a healthcare professional remains the most appropriate step, CBD having no vocation to stand in for medical support.

Does CBD have the same effects as alcohol on the body?

No, CBD does not reproduce the effects of alcohol and no health claim is authorised for a CBD product in France. What it mainly allows is the recreation of the gesture and the moment of the ritual, not the effect sought with alcohol.

What is "Le Défi de Janvier"?

It is the name under which the British Dry January campaign has been relayed in France since 2020. It invites people to a January without alcohol, on a voluntary basis.

Can it be said that a CBD drink helps reduce stress?

No, no health claim of that kind is authorised for a CBD product in France, according to the DGCCRF and the MILDECA. All communication must remain descriptive, with no promise of effect.

Does Dry January exist only in January?

The campaign historically concerns the month of January, but nothing prevents anyone from repeating the same approach, with or without CBD, at another time of year.