By Lindi Masinga
In just under two months it will be the first anniversary of when the most countries went into lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic, which has led to an increase in alcohol consumption and sales.
According to The Nielsen Company in the United States, which has had the highest covid-19 infections and deaths, the sale of liquor went up by 54% in March 2020 as compared to the exact same time in 2019.
There have been various reasons that researchers have said was the reason for this increase, which included stress, anxiety and boredom.
The Nielsen Company also said that the age range of individuals that were consuming alcohol in high numbers was 30-59 years old. Alarmingly 53.7% of women were the ones who were consuming and buying more alcohol than their male counter parts.
While in Ireland, Global Drug Survey said that 22% of the people who the survey was conducted on said that they were drinking alcohol more than usual during the pandemic. A further 44% said that they were consuming alcohol more frequently since covid-19 began in 2020.
The people who were interviewed during the survey, 43%, also said that they had more time to drink.
The survey showed that 38% of people saying that their binge drinking had increased, with binge drinking being described as consuming five or more drinks in a single setting.
Global Drug Survey said that of all the people who took the survey, 42% said that they were hoping to drink less alcohol in the next 30 days.
With the pandemic seemingly not coming to an end, it doesn’t seem like there is a chance of these numbers decreasing.
