Change is brewing as health-conscious Brits snub booze

Britain has celebrated its drinking culture for centuries but initiatives such as the "Dry January" campaign show body-conscious adults are now shunning alcohol in record numbers - a phenomenon seized upon by the drinks industry.

"I actually realized I slept better. I felt great. I had a lot more energy," 47-year-old Stuart Elkington says after he made the decision seven years ago to give up alcohol while trying to start a family with his partner.

A 2017 poll showed that 57 percent of 7,100 respondents say they had drunk alcohol in the previous week - the lowest level since the annual survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics, was launched in 2005, when the figure stood at 64 percent.