People are drinking more alcohol in their homes as they spend added time indoors during the pandemic, according to drinks distributors, psychiatrists and NGOs.
Retailers say sales of alcohol to households have increased since COVID-19 hit Malta in March as the country’s drinking habits become more home based, sparking concern that some people are hitting the bottle to cope with stress and isolation.
The trend is likely to get even stronger with the closing of bars and clubs from today until December 1.
Andrew Forace, director of Spades Wines & Spirits, said that since March his website had an increase in sales.
This, he says, is due to various factors including the cultural shift to online shopping but also because people were spending more time socialising at home.
Franco Farrugia, owner of Hansa Wines & Spirits, has also noticed an increase in household consumption.
It is not that everyone was drinking more, he said. Some who usually drank at a bar or restaurant were now doing so at home. However, some people were worried about an increase in their consumption.
“I had one client come back to the shop to return some bottles because he was worried it would become a problem.”
Psychiatrist Anton Grech said he and his colleagues had seen a rise in alcohol consumption since the pandemic started in March.
Alcohol in bars comes with a strong social element while at home this is missing
One reason is that people are “misusing – not using – alcohol to reduce their anxiety at a time when we are feeling a lot of it”.
He advised people to be careful: while alcohol may work in the short term to dampen anxiety, higher quantities would be needed as people developed tolerance for it. This could lead to problems like alcohol dependence and depression.
“Secondly, as people’s routines change and they struggle to sleep, they are using alcohol to help them sleep,” he said.
He also warned about replacing a drink in a bar with a drink at home. “Alcohol in bars comes with a strong social element while at home this is missing.”
According to a WHO report last year, Malta had the EU’s third largest growth per capita in alcohol consumption bet-ween 2010 and 2016.
A spokesperson for Alcoholics Anonymous, run by Caritas Malta, said: “Alcohol is a good form of escapism and COVID-19 has left so many with emotional and mental health issues, hence alcohol is on the increase to hide from these emotions.”
Manuel Mangani, founder of Amethyst, an NGO that helps people with alcohol problems, said he had not seen an increase in people seeking help since March.
But he said he had strong reason to believe that consumption has increased in households, as people have more time on their hands, anxiety levels are high and alcohol is easily delivered.