(CU)_Since the beginning of the pandemic in March last year, people across the globe have been living under unprecedented circumstances, with millions of people being forced to stay at home for lengthy periods. They were not only barred from participating in social activities, but were also forced to work from home, as offices were shut on account of the global health crisis. While these restrictions have had a few of their own benefits, they also increased the level of stress and anxiety among people, which has led to a higher consumption of alcohol, particularly among Australians, who topped the charts as the heaviest drinkers in the world last year.
The Global Drug Survey, an independent research organisation based in London, conducted a study on the drug and alcohol consumption of over 32,000 participants from 22 countries, last year. The results showed that on average, Australians drank to the point of drunkenness 27 times a year, almost twice the global average of 15. Nearly a quarter of the participants from the Trans-Tasman nation reported feeling regret over becoming intoxicated, while the proportion of Australians who sought emergency care for their drinking stood at 3.9 per cent, triple the global average of 1.2 per cent.
The findings were described as “concerning”, by the chief executive of the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, Caterina Giorgi, who said the survey paints clear picture of the impact of harmful consumption of alcohol, particularly during the pandemic.
“Australia tops the world in both the number of times people report getting drunk and in seeking emergency medical treatment for alcohol… Both of those indicators suggest people are drinking at fairly risky levels,” she said, adding that there has been a sharp increase in calls for help to drug and alcohol hotlines in the country, while the involvement of alcohol in family violence callouts have also hiked.
“There’s an emerging picture [that] there is a significant proportion of people who are drinking at riskier levels… to cope with stress and anxiety. Those habits are hard to undo as we continue to live in this COVID environment,” Giorgi noted.
