'Sober curious': Younger Canadians turning away from alcohol, data says

According to a survey on recent alcohol consumption, younger Canadians are more likely to have not had a drink in the past week. For those interested in slowing or stopping their alcohol consumption, there's a phrase: 'sober curious.'

According to a survey on recent alcohol consumption, younger Canadians are more likely to have not had a drink in the past week.

Statistics Canada's Canadian Community Health Survey found 67 per cent of those aged 18 to 22 had gone the past week without a drink, compared to 54 per cent for Canadians overall.

The younger age group had less high-risk drinking as well, with only eight per cent having had seven or more drinks in the past week, close to half the Canadian average of 15 per cent.

And according to a Leger survey of Gen Z (18 to 27 years old) and Millennials (28 to 43 years old), 22 per cent of Gen Z said they’d never drank alcohol, compared to just 12 per cent of Millennials.

The same Leger survey also found that 29 per cent of Gen Z and Millennial participants were reducing their alcohol consumption. For those interested in slowing or stopping their alcohol consumption, there's a phrase: "sober curious."

"Sober curiosity is a process that is essential to overcome overdrinking," says Lindsay Sutherland Boal, founder of She Walks Canada, a group dedicated to helping women overcome their struggles with alcohol.

Sutherland Boal says she created the platform after feeling like conventional programs didn't reflect her personal experience with alcohol struggles. She wanted to create something for "grey-area drinkers" — those who haven't hit rock bottom, but still know they're struggling.