The concerning increasing trend of alcohol beverage sales in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

There are some concerns regarding alcohol use behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The mixed findings of the first alcohol use studies during this pandemic may reflect the lack of differentiation between on-premise and home consumption. Most of the countries adopted severe restrictions on drinking place functioning. Alcohol retail store sales temporal data were used to examine alcohol sales changes in the United States (U.S.) throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as a proxy indicator of at-home drinking. Data were sourced from the Monthly Retail Trade Survey, which has provided U.S. representative estimates of sales at retail and food services stores since 1951. In the present study, we analyzed data from seasonally adjusted beer, wine, and liquor store (BWLS) sales from January 1992 to September 2020. Poisson cubic spline models were used to assess nonlinearity in such sales during the period. These models were adjusted to the consumer price index for alcoholic beverages. There was a significant increase in retail alcohol sales during the beginning of the pandemic, reaching a plateau in the third quarter of 2020. During the COVID-19 period (March 2020 to September 2020), there were 41.9 billion dollars in BWLS sales, representing an increase of 20% compared to the same period in 2019. On the other hand, food and drinking place retail sales decreased by 27% during the same period in the same survey. These results may indicate an increase in home drinking during the period, which could potentially lead to higher alcohol consumption and alcohol-related adverse health outcomes. More aggressive efforts should be made to warn the population about the risks associated with increased home alcohol consumption during the pandemic. Additionally, tracking individual alcohol consumption and releasing real-time data at different levels are needed to better assess the effects of increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic.

Prenatal and Postnatal Choline Supplementation in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

“…Close to five decades of research has led to valuable insights regarding the wide range of effects of PAE on brain structure and function, from genetic factors and cellular mechanisms to brain abnormalities and neurocognitive impairment [ 14 , 17 , 27 , 28 ]. Continued global increase in alcohol consumption [ 6 , 7 ], under-diagnosis and misdiagnosis [ 10 , 11 ], and a paucity of available treatments [ 22 , 23 ] highlight the crucial need for novel intervention for individuals affected by PAE. Furthermore, nearly half of all pregnancies are unplanned, and many children with PAE/FASD are only identified postnatally as a result of child protection proceedings, foster-care and adoption screening, state-supported early developmental screenings, and pediatric evaluations, pointing to the urgent need for both prenatal and postnatal interventions with the potential to improve long-term neurocognitive outcomes in this vulnerable population.…”

“…FASD affects approximately 2.0 to 5.0% of the European and North American populations [ 2 , 3 ] and 13.6 to 28% of high-risk rural populations in South Africa [ 4 , 5 ]. Rates of alcohol consumption around the globe are generally increasing [ 6 ], with even larger accelerations seen during the recent COVID-19 pandemic [ 7 ]. Despite the tremendous public health burden it represents [ 8 , 9 ], FASD remains under-recognized and is often misdiagnosed [ 10 , 11 ].…”

Food spending in the United States during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Although the results are mixed as to what extent the pandemic impacted the expenditure on risky health products such as alcohol and tobacco ( 33 – 36 ), the significant decline in total food spending is concerning since it likely indicates increased food insecurity. Several published studies have indicated higher food insecurity during the pandemic ( 14 , 16 , 17 ), particularly among older and disadvantaged adults ( 18 ).…”

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Consumption Behavior: Based on the Perspective of Accounting Data of Chinese Food Enterprises and Economic Theory

“…Czoli et al [ 82 ] used sales data to estimate the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and found that between 2004 and 2015, the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages by Canadians showed a downward trend. Castaldelli-Maia et al [ 83 ] used alcohol sales data as a proxy for alcohol consumption to assess the impact of increased alcohol consumption among Americans during the pandemic. Similar to previous studies, we use data related to enterprise sales to evaluate people’s food consumption behavior during the pandemic.…”