A study of 23 years of data shows that “abstaining from alcohol during Buddhist Lent” reduces the amount of drinking by 10%.

Avoid alcohol during Buddhist Lent and reduce your intake.

A collaborative study between Thai researchers from Walailak University Mahidol University and researchers from the University of Toronto using data on monthly alcohol sales. Covering a period of 23 years (1995 to 2017) representing consumption data, it was found The campaign to stop drinking alcohol during the Buddhist Lent reduces the amount people consume during the 3 months of Buddhist Lent by 9.97%.

The study was published as “Effects of an annual temporary abstinence campaign on population-level alcohol consumption in Thailand: a 23-year time-series analysis” BMJ Global Health which is a prestigious international academic journal in the field of global health Last July 2024

Research shows that it can reduce drinking.

This research has the strength of using data from 1995 to 2017, which spans the period before the campaign to stop drinking during the Buddhist Lent (starting in 2003) because drinking behavior of Thai people tends to be high in May to October every year. This is the month that overlaps with the time of the Buddhist Lent. (usually from July to October) So the decline in drinking during Buddhist Lent can be seen as a seasonal change in the amount of drinking.

Using data from before the campaign to stop drinking during Buddhist Lent allows researchers to compare Reductions in drinking during Buddhist Lent in the year of the campaign. Is it different from the reduction in drinking during Buddhist Lent in lean years? The finding of the difference reflects the results of the campaign to abstain from drinking during the Buddhist Lent.

The research used time series data analysis methods, general additive models (GAM), found that the campaign to stop drinking alcohol during the Buddhist Lent in Thailand. As a result of a 9.97% reduction in the volume of drinking at the level of the population. This is considered to be one of the first studies. that shows a Campaign inviting people to stop drinking alcohol for a while. It can reduce the amount of drinking at the population level.

Campaigns to encourage people to stop drinking alcohol for a short period of time have been launched in many countries, mostly by inviting people to abstain from drinking for a month. -Dried onion from Australia and ikPas from Holland. These initiatives have only gained interest in the last decade or so, at the same time as a downward trend in drinking behavior in Western countries.

Therefore, data from the above study supports that the campaign to stop drinking alcohol during the Buddhist Lent and similar campaigns will help to reduce problems that affect the both health and society.

reference

Saengow, U., Patanavanich, R., Suriyawongpaisal, P., Aekplakorn, W., Sornpaisarn, B., Jiang, H., & Rehm, J. (2024). Effects of an annual temporary abstinence campaign on population-level alcohol consumption in Thailand: a 23-year time-series study. BMJ Global Health, 9(7), e014428.