UK hits the bottle to cope with stress of pandemic

MORE than half of UK adults say they are currently drinking more alcohol than a year ago while about one in three say they have quit smoking since then, according to new research.

Some 53.5 per cent of people said they were drinking more now than March and April last year, while 35.1% said they had stopped smoking in the same time period.

Men were more likely to report an increase in alcohol consumption than women – 59.2% of men as opposed to 47.3% of women.

Those aged 30-59 were most likely to have increased their drinking (56.5%) against 50.7% of those aged 18-29 and 48% of those aged over 60.

However, there have been decreases in alcohol consumption among some groups, with about two-fifths (40.1%) of heavy drinkers (15+ units a week) decreasing their alcohol intake.

Roughly nine in 10 (91.5%) of people aged between 18 and 29 who were drinking heavily a year ago have decreased their drinking, compared to one-third of those drinking heavily aged 30-59 (37.5%) and 60+ (35.5%).

Lead author Dr Elise Paul, UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health, said: “Our report shows that during the pandemic, alcohol consumption has increased for many.

“This could be due to a wide range of factors, including using alcohol to cope with stress and the absence of other ways in which to demarcate home and work life when working from home during the lockdown.

“The closure of non-essential shops and restriction of activities will also have had an impact, with people drinking more for lack of anything else to do, rather than due to a conscious decision to increase alcohol consumption.”

Launched in the week before lockdown started, the ongoing UCL Covid-19 Social Study is funded by the Nuffield Foundation

It is the UK’S largest study into how adults are feeling about the lockdown, Government advice and overall wellbeing and mental health with over 70,000 participants over the last 56 weeks.

Researchers say happiness and life satisfaction have been increasing since the end of January and levels are now similar to last summer.

All demographic groups have reported increasing levels of happiness and life satisfaction since the easing of lockdown restrictions.