Characterizing sentiment and self-reported experiences with nonalcoholic beverages in the context of efforts to quit or cut down on drinking.

BACKGROUND

Nonalcoholic beverages (NABs), which emulate characteristics of alcoholic counterparts but contain little or no alcohol, have become increasingly popular. Though NABs might serve as alcohol substitutes for some, lowering the overall public health burden caused by alcohol consumption, NABs may create risks for other vulnerable populations, such as those in or attempting recovery from alcohol use disorder. Little research has investigated how people attempting to quit drinking use and talk about NABs. The present study characterized how NABs are discussed and experienced in the context of efforts to quit or reduce alcohol use within an online alcohol recovery forum.

METHODS

We conducted a qualitative content analysis of 200 NAB-related posts from the r/stopdrinking subreddit. Two coders independently annotated posts using a structured codebook.

RESULTS

Of returned posts, 153 mentioned NABs and met criteria for inclusion. Most (86.8%) expressed either positive (35.3%) or neutral (52.2%) sentiment toward NABs, and over half (55.5%) stated abstinence as a current recovery goal. Posts mentioned: perceived benefits (46.4%), recommendations for NABs (32%), barriers to use (30%), requests for opinions about NABs (28.8%), warnings about NABs sometimes containing low amounts of alcohol (9.8%), consequences from drinking NABs (13.7%), and experiences mistakenly being served alcohol after ordering a NAB (6.5%).

CONCLUSIONS

Results highlight largely positive sentiment and perceived benefits among posts in the r/stopdrinking subreddit. However, NABs may also present important risks, including mistakenly being served alcohol when ordering a NAB and as a risk pathway for returning to former levels of alcohol use.