Drinking abstinence during a 3-month abstinence campaign in Thailand: weighted analysis of a national representative survey

BACKGROUND: Temporary drinking abstinence campaigns have emerged globally in recent years. In Western countries, campaigns usually challenge drinkers to abstain for one month. In Thailand, the campaign called the Buddhist Lent Abstinence Campaign has been organized annually since 2003. The campaign encourages Thai people to abstain from drinking for three months during the Buddhist Lent period, which coincides with the monsoon season in Southeast Asia (around July–October). This study aimed to estimate the proportion and number of drinkers changing their drinking behaviours during the 3-month Thai abstinence campaign and to examine the determinants of abstinence. METHODS: The 2016 Buddhist Lent Abstinence Evaluation Survey was analysed. The survey was a national representative survey of Thai populations aged ≥15 years. Weighted data were employed throughout the analysis. The number and proportion of drinkers changing their drinking behaviours were estimated. The determinants of alcohol abstinence during the campaign were explored using weighted logistic regression. RESULTS: The prevalence of drinking in the Thai population was 34.3% (95% CI: 32.2–36.4%). A third of the current drinkers, equal to almost six million drinkers, abstained completely during the 3-month period. Another six million drinkers partially changed their drinking behaviours (16.3% abstained for a certain period, and 18.7% decreased the quantity of alcohol they consumed). The factors associated with abstinence included religion, occupation, drinking frequency prior to the campaign, type of beverages consumed, perceived harm from alcohol, exposure to campaign media, and making a public commitment. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated the effectiveness of a temporary abstinence campaign in Thailand. The work is part of the growing global evidence on the effectiveness of this type of intervention. Temporary abstinence campaigns could be a potential approach to controlling alcohol consumption and related harms. Further research should focus on the long-term effects of such campaigns.