According to ONS data, the UK witnessed an almost 20% increase in alcohol-specific deaths in 2020. The reasons for this aren’t fully understood but most of these deaths are from alcoholic liver disease, which typically takes many years to develop.
One in four adults have drinking concerns
One in four adults having concerns about their own drinking habits, an independent poll conducted on 2,000 UK adults revealed. It also found that, as restrictions ease, 1 in 10 [5.6 million people] are worried about the drinking behaviour of a partner, friend or family member. Researchers from the UK Dementia Research Institute have found that even low levels of regular alcohol consumption are associated with potentially harmful changes to multiple organs including the brain.
BAME members more likely to drink alcohol than white people
Speaking to Asian Voice, Dr Richard Piper, CEO of Alcohol Change UK, said: "Lockdown has created conditions for more people to drink more heavily and more often than usual, leaving many people struggling to cope.
"Figures from our research carried out for Dry January found that close to one in three (29%) people who drink alcohol said they have drunk more in 2020 than in 2019. One in five (22%) had felt concerned about the amount they have been drinking since Covid-19 restrictions began in March 2020. A similar proportion have found themselves drinking earlier in the day (26%), drinking more often (31%), and drinking ‘to try and cope’ (23%).
"The data also showed that people from BAME backgrounds were more likely to have been drinking more than white people.
"If the UK is to recover from the pandemic, the Government must act. We need to have a comprehensive, strategic set of policies from the government to tackle alcohol harm, including minimum unit pricing for alcohol, better regulation of alcohol marketing, and sustainable funding for alcohol treatment services."
He further added, “We have also seen many more people coming to us for help. From 23 March 2020 - 22 March, 2021 page views of the 'Get help now' section of our website were up 130% compared to the previous year. For the website as a whole, the number of users is up 70% to 1.5 million. The figures are the strongest for the first month of lockdown: page views of the 'Get help now' section were up 410% compared to the same period in 2019.”
Unavailability of data specific to ethnic minorities
Over 8.9 million adults are currently drinking above ‘safe’ levels each week with more than one in seven saying the easing of lockdown restrictions will lead them to drink even more alcohol at pubs.
Dr Sadie Boniface, Head of Research - Institute of Alcohol Studies told Asian Voice, “Pubs may have been closed for many months but this means drinking has moved behind closed doors. National data show more people are now drinking at higher risk levels, posing a risk of a rise in health problems down the line. The Office for National Statistics also found that 2020 was the worst year on record for alcohol-specific deaths, a 20% rise on the previous year. Alcohol also plays a role in mental health problems and in domestic violence, both of which have been of increased concern during the pandemic.”
When asked if there are specific data on ethnic minorities on alcoholism, she said, “Unfortunately little of the national data is readily available broken down by ethnicity. For example, if you look at the Wider Impacts of Covid-19 tool, most of the alcohol indicators are not available by ethnic group. I should say that ethnicity is almost always collected in these surveys – so the data do exist – but sadly not always featured in reports and key indicators.
“Much more generally, surveys tend to show people from ethnic minority groups drink less and are more likely to abstain from alcohol. However, there are relatively high rates of higher risk drinking among certain groups, and one I am aware of is men belonging to the Sikh religion (covered in an IAS briefing). I can’t recall seeing anything about Sikh men’s drinking during the pandemic though I’m afraid.”
Alcoholism triggers divorce rates
Kanti Nagda MBE shared his two cents on alcoholism and said, "Drink driving during Covid-19 has not been a big problem as people are under lockdown but the problem of mental and physical violence against the partner has increased. This has led to matrimonial problems and increased rates of divorces."
