In the never-ending quest for better health, many people are adding “sobriety” to their repertoire — giving up alcohol entirely, whether or not they have an addiction problem. They call it “sober curious” and tout the health benefits of their new way of life. Read more here.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson’s proposed budget is calling for changes to the alcoholic beverages retail sales tax program, including a more than $1.2 million cut from the child abuse, sexual assault, and domestic violence section. The budget proposes to cut early education grants in half, as well as $250,000 for funds directed to Victims for Justice, Abused Women’s Aid …

Alison (not her real name) was just 14 years old when she first started drinking. “It was part of my life,” she says. “I always had alcohol around me from a young age. It was just accepted.” While she started off slowly, drinking was encouraged as she grew up and again when she moved into the workplace. ‘Liquid lunches’ became …

Jennifer Pierce, a mental health clinician for Anchorage Fire Department’s Mobile Crisis Team, walks along 15th Avenue with a woman who appeared to be in emotional distress on October 1, 2021. Read more here.

Just inside the Athletic Brewing Company’s headquarters, in Stratford, Connecticut, there is a long wooden bar with a selection of non-alcoholic craft beers on tap. When I visited the brewery and public taproom on a sunny afternoon in June, during our fleeting summer of freedom before the emergence of the Delta variant, I could smell the hops—the flowers that give beer …

I started experimenting with alcohol when I was 13. Unlike most teenagers who start with beer or wine, I went straight to the hard stuff: vodka. I’d sneak sips out of my mom’s alcohol cupboard, loving the woozy sensation after a couple of gulps. When I was 14, my grandmother died. And the night before her funeral, I got drunk …

AS OCTOBER USHERS in National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the social media campaign Drink Less for Your Breasts stands out like a red flag against a cheerful tide of pink ribbons, especially the ones printed on labels of alcoholic beverages. This is the time of year when some craft brewers tint their beer pink, and rosé bottles and cocktail menus display the iconic …

Most people think they know what substance misuse looks like. Maybe it’s an uncle who drinks so much at family gatherings that he stumbles around and tells inappropriate jokes. Or it’s a friend who started smoking marijuana in college and didn’t quit when she “grew up.” Read more here.

THE LAST YEAR has been stressful, to say the least. If you’ve been turning to alcohol to relax and, well, not freak completely out, you’re not alone: The frequency and amount of alcohol consumption more than doubled in 2020 compared to 2018, according to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Popular culture certainly hasn’t helped, with “wine time” decor …