Canadians up alcohol intake during coronavirus lockdown

A quarter of Canadians aged between 35 and 44 have increased their alcohol consumption while at home during the covid-19 crisis, according to a new survey.

25% of Canadians aged between 35 and 44 are drinking more, a new survey has found

Canadian research company Nanos Research surveyed 1,036 consumers over the age of 18 between 30 March and 2 April 2020. The research was commissioned by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction.

Among those surveyed, nine in 10 (94%) reported they were currently staying at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The report found that those who consumed more alcohol most often cited a lack of regular schedule, boredom and stress. The same reasons were often cited for increased cannabis use.

It also found that Canadians who consumed less alcohol did so due to a lack of social gatherings and opportunities to drink.

Younger participants, aged between 18 to 34, were more likely than Canadians aged over 55 to increase their consumption of both alcohol and cannabis.

Seven in 10 Canadians (70%) currently staying at home said their alcohol consumption has remained the same, while 18% increased alcohol use and 12% had reduced their consumption.

People aged above 55 were less likely to report an increase (10%), than those aged between 35 to 54 (25%) and 18 to 34-year-olds (21%).

Of those who increased their consumption of alcohol, the reasons cited were a lack of a regular schedule (51%), boredom (49%), stress (44%), loneliness (19%), and big alcohol collections (12%).

Women were more likely to cite stress (57%) as a reason for consuming more than men (32%), while men are more likely to cite boredom (54%; 44% of women).

For Canadians who decreased their alcohol use, this was mostly down to a reduction in opportunities to socialise (61%), followed by health (36%), no reason (12%), not having much alcohol left (11%), being too busy (8%) and caring for dependents (8%).