SIOBHANO’CONNOR Lockdown priorities are all OFF
restrict our drinking habits, it wouldn’t only be the coronavirus potentially killing us, there’d be killings as people withdraw from their favourite tipple.
The supermarkets already sell alcohol so why on earth are off licences listed as “essential” during lockdown?
The reason? Drink shuts us up,
Wine o’clock gets earlier every day it slows us down and sedates us. If we’re going around in a drunken stupor, the haze and fog of the booze will keep us comfortably numb – we’re not going to complain, kick up a fuss about lockdown if we’re half out of it and locked ourselves.
Most people anecdotally are telling me they’ve been enjoying a
Garden centres couple of tipples every night since the coronavirus struck.
The latest grocery index showed a 44% increase in sales of booze from supermarkets and offlicences, jumping to €49.3million over the Easter period.
There’s even a bouncer at my local off-licence and the queue was 20-fold last Friday, it took 20 minutes just to get inside the shop and that shelves were starting to look bare.
Drink Aware said 50% of Irish adults cite “coping” as motivation for their boozing habits.
The charity is urging the public to limit or cut alcohol consumption while spending prolonged periods at home or while in isolation.
Drink Aware said its important for both mental and physical
If we’re going around in a drunken stupor, we’re not going to kick up a fuss about the lockdown
health not to rely on alcohol. Unlike off-licences, garden centres could easily be adapted to be fully outdoor spaces and the 2m social distance would not be a problem in such a practical space.
Plants and flowers, whether growing in a garden or on a windowsill or balcony, have long been recognised as brilliant for our mental health.
Whereas we know alcohol is a depressant and we’re just kidding ourselves that it’s alleviating our anxiety, eventually it’ll bite us in the backside.