Around 1 in 6 Australians drank more alcohol during the COVID-19 pandemic, but 1 in 6 drank less

According to Australian research around 1 in 6 Australians drank more alcohol during the COVID19 pandemic – but around 1 in 6 Aussies also drank less. One reason for this could be because the pubs and clubs were shut.

The survey of over 2,000 people found that overall the average number of drinks people drank per day did not change from 2019 to early in the epidemic. But young men, ended up drinking less as their patterns of drinking shifted from going out to staying in.

Perhaps not surprisingly it was parents and those taking on home-schooling responsibilities, people aged 30–49 years, and people reporting high levels of distress, who were among those who ended up drinking more.