Researchers Call for Guidance on Nonalcoholic Drinks in Recovery

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Nonalcoholic beer, wine, and spirits have gone from novelty to standard stock in five years, including sober bars, and most people in alcohol recovery have already tried them. What doesn’t exist yet is any real guidance on what that means for recovery. Researchers behind a new U.S. study now ask for policymakers to develop one.

The CRAFT study, led by researchers at the University of Florida, surveyed 1,464 US adults aged 21 and older in April and May 2025. It deliberately included 278 folks who claimed they were in recovery from alcohol use disorder or problematic alcohol use.

The Study’s Findings

Among that group of 278, roughly 89% had tried no or low alcohol drinks. About 72% stated they would consider using them as part of their recovery.

The researchers also found 57% of that group counted or rationed drinks as part of their recovery, and those who did were around 4x likelier to have tried nonalcoholic products.

Researchers Want Guidance

The study team was direct about what the research doesn’t cover. They wrote that the available evidence doesn’t yet identify these products’ benefits and harms. The study singled out individuals in recovery and treatment as those where that gap matters most.

They then listed cautionary advisories for people in recovery and treatment as a priority for future work. Anyone bringing these drinks into alcohol recovery should do so carefully, keeping control of their own process.

This was a cross-sectional study, capturing a single moment rather than tracking people over time, so it cannot establish cause and effect. It documents what people are doing, not what they should do.

This Group May Not Look Like You

One detail is worth reading closely before drawing conclusions about your own alcohol recovery.

Recovery in this study was self-defined, and it didn’t require abstinence. Among the 278 folks in that group, about 29% had a drink within the past week and only about 26% reported not drinking at all in 2024. The researchers were following a broader definition of recovery that includes non-heavy drinking.

If your recovery is built on not drinking at all, the people answering these questions were largely not in your situation. Their comfort with these products doesn’t tell you much about yours.

Nonalcoholic Does Not Always Mean Zero

The study defined these beverages as containing 0.0-0.5% alcohol by volume. Some contain no alcohol, others a trace amount, and labels don’t always clarify which is which.

Alcohol content is only part of it. For plenty of people in recovery, the taste, the smell, and the ritual of holding a drink are cues in their own right as part of a social life, separate from the liquor in the glass. It’s similar to holding a cigarette just to be social.

Others find none of that troubling. Both experiences are real, and the research doesn’t yet tell us who falls where. That is precisely the gap the study authors want closed.

Deciding What Is Right for Your Alcohol Recovery

Until formal guidance exists, this stays a personal call, best made deliberately rather than in the moment at a party.

The people who know your alcohol recovery are the right ones to think it through with. A sponsor, a counselor, or trusted members of your home group can weigh it against your own history in a way a national survey cannot. If you do try them, how you feel afterward matters more than any statistic.

Long-term sobriety is built out of decisions like this one, made honestly and with support. The Sober App can help you track your days and notice patterns, and your streak keeps building either way.

AA Meetings to Carry You Through

To talk this through with people who understand it firsthand, you can enroll in a local AA chapter. It’s simple. Feel free to search our directory for meetings by state and city, including online and beginner-friendly formats.

You can also talk to our experts for free and confidential information. Simply dial 800-948-8417 Sponsored . For emergencies, remember that the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available around the clock.

By Courtney Myers

By Peter Lee

Courtney Myers holds an MS in Technical Communication degree from NC State. She has more than 15 years of experience as a freelance writer and editor, specializing in addiction recovery and mental health-related topics. 

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Peter W.Y. Lee is a writer and historian of American history. His primary focus is on the Cold War era. His academic work examines the relationship between youth and popular culture and its impact on U.S. society during the twentieth century. 

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