The Dry January campaign officially began in the UK in 2013.
The campaign was formalized by Alcohol Concern, the charity now known as Alcohol Change UK. Its challenge asks participants to avoid alcohol throughout January, turning a personal New Year experiment into a coordinated public-health campaign. About 4,000 people signed up in the first year.
The idea of taking a month off alcohol was not entirely new. Alcohol Change UK staff member Emily Robinson had stopped drinking in January 2011 while preparing for a half-marathon and noticed benefits that encouraged her to develop the campaign. Other individuals had also described informal alcohol-free Januaries before the UK initiative.
The year 2014 can cause confusion because “Dry January” was first registered as a trademark then. That registration is not the same as the campaign's official launch, which occurred in 2013. Public Health England endorsed the campaign in 2015, helping it reach a much larger audience. Dry January is also distinct from permanent abstinence: participants generally commit to an alcohol-free January and use the month to reflect on their drinking habits.