Study shows uptick in U.S. alcohol beverage sales during COVID-19
pandemic
Highest variation was a 7.5-billion-dollar increase in liquor store sales between the first three quarters of 2019 and 2020

Date:
August 20, 2021
Source:
Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
Summary:
During the COVID-19 pandemic months of March 2020 to September
2020, U.S.

alcohol retail store sales increased compared to usual trends while
food services and drinking places sales decreased markedly during
the same period, according to a new study. These results indicate
an increase in home drinking in the U.S.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== During the COVID-19 pandemic months of March 2020 to September 2020, U.S.

alcohol retail store sales increased compared to usual trends while food services and drinking places sales decreased markedly during the same
period, according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School
of Public Health. These results indicate an increase in home drinking
in the U.S. The findings are published online in the journal Alcohol.


==========================================================================
The researchers used alcohol retail store sales data of beer, wine, and
liquor store (BWLS) purchases from January 1992 to September 2020 from the Monthly Retail Trade Survey, which provides sales estimates at retail and
food services. Alcohol sales changes in the U.S. throughout the COVID-19 pandemic were used as an indicator of at-home drinking. Calculating
variations in monthly sales enabled the authors to show annual differences
in monthly BWLS sales between consecutive years from 1992 to 2020.

"Our results appear to substantiate an increase in home drinking during
the period, which could potentially lead to higher alcohol consumption
and alcohol- related adverse health outcomes," said Joa~o Mauricio Castaldelli-Maia, MD, PhD, NIDA-INVEST Postdoctoral Fellow in the
Department of Epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School, and first author.

There was a significant increase in retail alcohol sales during the
beginning of the pandemic, reaching a plateau in the third quarter of
2020. From March 2020 to September 2020, there were 41.9 billion dollars
in liquor store sales, representing an increase of 20 percent and 18
percent compared to the same period in 2019 and the previous seven-month
period (i.e., August 2019 to February 2020), respectively. Likewise,
food and drinking place retail sales decreased by 27 percent during the
key months of the pandemic, March to September 2020.

Comparing BWLS sales in the first three quarters of consecutive years
between 1992 and 2020, the highest variation was a 7.5-billion-dollar
increase in these sales between the first three quarters of 2019 and 2020.

Food and drinking place retail (FSDP) sales decreased by more than
50 percent from February 2020 to April 2020. After this, sales for
these establishments increased but have not reached the pre-COVID-19
levels. In September 2020, FSDP sales were approximately 15 percent below pre-COVID-19 levels while beer, wine, and liquor store sales increased
by 17 percent and remained around this level during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Excessive home drinking could be a dysfunctional way of coping with stress related to the need to quarantine and worries about an uncertain future, according to the researchers. Another critical issue is that drinking
at home has been associated with domestic violence.

"During the pandemic, increases in alcohol use at home could potentially exacerbate the effects of social isolation on domestic violence," suggests Castaldelli-Maia. "For example, U.S. police department data illustrates
that there was a 10-27 percent increase in calls concerning domestic
violence during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders across diverse locations in
the country -- from Alabama and Texas to Oregon and New York, although it
is unclear whether home drinking played a role in such outcomes." "While
there is still much left to understand about alcohol use behaviors during
the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe it's important to make more aggressive efforts to warn the population about the risks associated with increased
home alcohol consumption during a pandemic," said Silvia Martins, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School, and senior author. "It is also important to investigate alcohol use behaviors among individuals at high risk of infection by SARS-CoV-2 such as frontline
workers and among those living alone for longer isolation periods."
A co-author is Luis Segura, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health.

The study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
of the National Institutes of Health under the NIDA INVEST Drug Abuse
Research Fellowship.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Columbia_University's_Mailman_School_of_Public_Health.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Joa~o M. Castaldelli-Maia, Luis E. Segura, Silvia S. Martins. The
concerning increasing trend of alcohol beverage sales in
the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. Alcohol, 2021; DOI:
10.1016/j.alcohol.2021.06.004 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210819113034.htm

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