Total alcohol sales outside of bars and restaurants have risen 24% during the pandemic
Written By:
Post Bulletin Editorial Board |
7:00 am, Feb. 2, 2021
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Movie theaters closed, restaurants closed, bars closed, even schools closed. But liquor stores remained open. They were deemed "essential" during the epidemic
And alcohol use has climbed.
Nielsen market research shows that total alcohol sales outside of bars and restaurants have risen 24% during the pandemic, and mental health experts fear people are turning to alcohol to combat the stress of dealing with COVID-19. Our alcohol culture has followed us online, and quarantine cocktail parties have become a thing.
But an estimated 95,000 people die from alcohol-related causes annually, making alcohol the third-leading preventable cause of death in the United States. The first is tobacco, and the second is poor diet and physical inactivity, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.