Changes in Alcohol Consumption during the COVID-19 Pandemic Are Dependent on Initial Consumption Level: Findings from Eight European Countries.

Evidence suggests that changes in alcohol consumption during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic were unevenly distributed over consumer groups. We investigated possible inter-country differences in how changes in alcohol consumption are contingent on initial consumption (before or at the start of the pandemic), and how changes in consumption translate into possible changes in the prevalence of heavy drinking. We used data from the European Survey on Alcohol use and COVID-19 (ESAC) conducted in Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Poland, Spain, and the UK (N = 31921). Past-year alcohol consumption and changes in consumption were measured by AUDIT-C. Drinking habits were compared according to percentiles of pre-pandemic consumption levels, below versus above the 90th percentile. Across countries, drinkers in the highest 10% for pre-pandemic consumption increased their drinking during the pandemic, whereas absolute changes among those initially drinking below this level were modest. The percentage of people reporting >28 alcohol units/week increased significantly in seven of eight countries. During the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, alcohol consumption in the upper decile of the drinkers increased as did the prevalence of heavy drinkers, in contrast with a declining consumption in other groups in the sample.

Measuring changes in alcohol use in Finland and Norway during the COVID-19 pandemic: Comparison between data sources.

OBJECTIVES: To examine (1) how a rapid data collection using a convenience sample fares in estimating change in alcohol consumption when compared to more conventional data sources, and (2) how alcohol consumption changed in Finland and Norway during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Three different types of data sources were used for the 2nd quarter of 2020 and 2019: sales statistics combined with data on unrecorded consumption; the rapid European Alcohol Use and COVID-19 (ESAC) survey (Finland: n = 3800, Norway: n = 17,092); and conventional population surveys (Finland: n = 2345, Norway: n1 = 1328, n2 = 2189, n3 = 25,708). Survey measures of change were retrospective self-reports. RESULTS: The statistics indicate that alcohol consumption decreased in Finland by 9%, while little change was observed in Norway. In all surveys, reporting a decrease in alcohol use was more common than reporting an increase (ratios 2-2.6 in Finland, 1.3-2 in Norway). Compared to conventional surveys, in the ESAC survey fewer respondents reported no change and past-year alcohol consumption was higher. CONCLUSION: The rapid survey using convenience sampling gave similar results on change in drinking as conventional surveys but higher past-year drinking, suggesting self-selection effects. Aspects of the pandemic driving alcohol consumption down were equally strong or stronger than those driving it up.

Alcohol Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Self-Reported Changes and Motives for Change.

BACKGROUND: In Europe, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a range of restrictive measures, which may have impacted alcohol consumption. OBJECTIVES: We explored perceived changes in alcohol consumption, their association with sociodemographic characteristics and past year alcohol consumption, and self-reported reasons for change after CO-VID-19 restrictions in Norway. METHOD: A web-based survey was sent to Norwegians aged 18 years and older in June-July 2020. Respondents reporting any past year alcohol use (n = 1,200) were asked whether they drank less, approximately the same, or more after the COVID-19 restrictions compared to before and reasons for drinking less or more. RESULTS: Almost a third (29.9%) reported they drank less, whereas 13.3% reported they drank more. Females, younger respondents, and Oslo residents were more likely to report both less and more drinking (p values between 0.001 and 0.029). Past year alcohol use was associated with less drinking (OR = 0.93; p < 0.001) and more drinking (OR = 1.07; p < 0.001). More drinking was also associated with living with child(ren) (p = 0.023) and high educational level (p = 0.029). The most frequently reported reasons for drinking less pertained to fewer social occasions and less on-premise drinking, whereas reasons for drinking more pertained to treating oneself to something good and fewer consequences of drinking more. CONCLUSIONS: After the COVID-19 restrictions were implemented, a substantial proportion of Norwegians changed their drinking behaviour.