Coronavirus: Failure to tackle problem drinking during lockdown could lead to second health crisis, warn experts

People already dependent on alcohol are at greatest risk, experts say

A man drinks red wine at home while looking out of the window

Failure to tackle problem drinking during the Covid-19 pandemic could result in increased harm for a generation, experts have warned.

Greater investment in services is needed to support people with existing alcohol dependencies and those at risk of falling into dependency during lockdown and beyond, the experts added.

Prof Sir Ian Gilmore, who chairs Alcohol Health Alliance UK, and Ilora Finlay, chair of the House of Lords Commission on Alcohol Harms, are calling on the government to take urgent action to avoid a second health crisis.

“As the UK and most other countries went into lockdown, the need to save lives from Covid-19 rightly took priority over longer-term health concerns,” the pair wrote in an editorial published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

“It is increasingly clear that if we don’t prepare for emerging from the pandemic, we will see the toll of increased alcohol harm for a generation.”

Sales of alcohol have soared since a nationwide lockdown was announced by the prime minister, Boris Johnson, on 23 March.

Supermarkets and corner shops saw alcohol sales increase by 22 per cent in March, according to consultancy firm Kantar.

“Many people reacted to the closure of pubs and restaurants by stocking up to drink at home in isolation,” the BMJ report says.

The writers also fear that increased drinking at home could be fuelling domestic abuse and other forms of abuse.

A team of researchers at the University of Portsmouth warned in April that a spike in alcohol misuse during lockdown could result in longer-term health issues for at-risk individuals.

“It is unprecedented to have so many people ... effectively locked away from their jobs, friends and families,” said Dr Matt Park.

“How people cope with this is varied, but there is a lot of anecdotal evidence of people responding by drinking more alcohol worldwide.”

“This period of isolation might lead to a spike in alcohol misuse and, potentially, development of addiction in at-risk individuals or relapse in recovered addicted patients, therefore placing further strain on drug and alcohol services, and the health service in general, during and after the pandemic.”