These Canadians passed on alcohol long before going 'dry' became trendy

Willow Yamauchi quit drinking about 17 years ago. She said booze made her feel unhealthy and she has never stopped thinking about an alcoholic uncle who died at 37.

Yamauchi, 50, drank as a teen and more recently raised a toast at her daughter's wedding, for luck. But the Vancouver woman says since 2005, she's never ingested more than a "centimetre" of alcohol.

People question her choice and assume she has allergies or an addiction.

"Alcohol is expensive and it has a lot of calories and it makes you feel crappy. So for me, it was a great decision to kind of get rid of it," said Yamauchi, who would rather reserve her calorie intake for chocolate.

"Alcohol may be a preservative, but not for the face."

Many Canadians are reassessing their alcohol consumption in the wake of soaring alcohol-related deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as new safe-drinking guidelines released in January that caused a stir.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) says that no amount of alcohol is entirely safe and recommends no more than two drinks a week for men and women. 

That's helping drive an interest in dry events and alcohol-free drinks. There are even groups that organize dry activities, from paint nights to picnics, like Sober Babes in Vancouver and Sober City in Halifax.

But some people skipped booze long before online support communities and mocktails. 

People abstain for a range of reasons, from addiction fears to taste preferences.

Kevin Hamilton's Christian grandparents saw imbibing as a vice, and he says drinking never seemed enticing to him after growing up in a mostly alcohol-free household in Newmarket, Ont.

"It's never held an appeal to impair your own judgment and mental state," said Hamilton, 33, a Toronto writer.

He says his abstinence made some social situations awkward — he was once offered a kid's juice box at a winery — but he says most people are understanding and respectful.