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Americans Are Drinking More Alcohol Than in 2019 (axios.com) 80

Americans reported drinking alcohol more frequently and in higher quantities since last year, according to a study published in JAMA. From a report: Excessive alcohol consumption may cause or worsen mental health problems, such as anxiety or depression. Experts have also warned the stress of the pandemic has fomented alcohol and drug abuse. The greatest changes were among women and people 30 to 59 years old. On average, alcohol was consumed one day more per month by three of four adults. Frequency of alcohol consumption for women increased by 17%. Heavy drinking among women -- four or more drinks within a few hours -- spiked 41% since 2019. Adults aged 30 to 59 years increased their drinking by 19% since last year.
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Americans Are Drinking More Alcohol Than in 2019

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  • by Ritz_Just_Ritz ( 883997 ) on Wednesday September 30, 2020 @09:13AM (#60557098)

    Drinking alone while staring at a computer screen used to be considered "bad." Now it's a virtual happy hour and encouraged for team building. :)

  • by Dastardly ( 4204 ) on Wednesday September 30, 2020 @09:20AM (#60557132)

    Ursine mammals defecate in sylvan settings.

  • Or conversely people with mental health problems like anxiety or depression end up drinking more. But then it's always nice to blame the drug, and not the individual. Bring back the days when everything being drunk was brewed, they couldn't figure out why beer was healthier than plain water (beer water is boiled) so everyone just drank beer. Short beer for breakfast anyone?
    • Re:Conversely (Score:5, Interesting)

      by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Wednesday September 30, 2020 @10:03AM (#60557288)

      The issues of the times, being mostly cooped up at home, Being fed with Divisive and angry media, without any sense that anyone is trying to make things better. People on the verge of being evicted, or at least building up enough debt, that they will be evicted when allowed.
      A lot of people who have Anxiety or Depression at a normally functional level. Is now in a case where they are having less control to help themselves, which makes it worse.
      I am a light Drinker myself (My wife is chronically ill and on Pain Meds, plus her family has an issue of Alcoholism, so my house is dry). I only drink while I am with a group of friends who are also drinking, then I may only have 1 or 2 drinks, and say it is enough. However Lately I have been going to my friend wanna hang out, just so I can get a drink, where I can a few minutes of feeling less anxious about everything.

      You may be surprised on how many people with Mental Health Problems they are, most of them are undiagnosed, because they can handle it normally. For me my normal Anxiety is having to pick up the phone to call someone is a lot like having to get up in the morning even though you are still tired. You can do it, it just doesn't feel good. However lately for me it has been increasing to a point where I am now slightly more agitated, and things that never bothered me before are getting annoying. I can still manage, and it isn't like I am going to going to drink just to drink. But to drink while with friends doing something fun as well. However many people have it much worse then me, plus there are a lot of good things happening to me too, so I can use my rational brain to remind me of that.
      However there is no surprise that people are drinking more. As we are feeling a lot more powerless than we use to be.

      • Being fed with Divisive and angry media, without any sense that anyone is trying to make things better.

        Because no one is. Police departments around the country should be standing up and saying they will be changing their training to emphasize de-escalation, not go-for-the-gun, that they will be divesting themselves of MRAPs and other completely inappropriate military equipmrnt, that they will move former military who had seen combat to desk jobs, and that they will move control of body cam footage out of the police department to some other part of city government and fire any officer who turns off his body

        • Off topic? What a weird moderation. I give advice to walk away from the angry divisive media that drives people to drink and get modded off topic. Brilliant.

  • by jfdavis668 ( 1414919 ) on Wednesday September 30, 2020 @09:24AM (#60557152)
    Are you sure people aren't just using it to disinfect themselves after every trip out into the world?
    • by gweihir ( 88907 )

      You mean the same way some others use these practical, cylindrical air filters to make sure they only breathe filtered air?

    • by flink ( 18449 )

      You need 70% (140 proof) or better to be good as a disinfectant. It'd be interesting to see if there was a massive spike in 151 or Everclear sales.

      • by aitikin ( 909209 )

        You need 70% (140 proof) or better to be good as a disinfectant. It'd be interesting to see if there was a massive spike in 151 or Everclear sales.

        Actually, you want 70%, not more [gotopac.com] for disinfecting, so the Everclear is probably pretty not flying off the shelves, but the 151 might be (if it wasn't discontinued 4 years ago). The higher percentage stuff is for cleaning things that need quicker evaporation (circuit boards for example).

  • For most people, an extra drink a week, or extra few drinks an additional day a month, isn't going to be a problem.

    The problem is with those few who are having an extra five-ten drinks every week. Which, given the situation (pandemic, politics, home-schooling) is still probably understandable. It could just be coping with having a (even only mildly) abusive person in the house all the time now.

    Let's see what the numbers are in 2022 - I'm assuming 2021 will be more of the same for most people as any vaccine

    • by bobstreo ( 1320787 ) on Wednesday September 30, 2020 @10:08AM (#60557308)

      For most people, an extra drink a week, or extra few drinks an additional day a month, isn't going to be a problem.

      The problem is with those few who are having an extra five-ten drinks every week. Which, given the situation (pandemic, politics, home-schooling) is still probably understandable. It could just be coping with having a (even only mildly) abusive person in the house all the time now.

      Let's see what the numbers are in 2022 - I'm assuming 2021 will be more of the same for most people as any vaccine won't roll out instantaneously.

      5-10 extra a week? what about 5-10 extra a day?

      I did watch some of the "debate" last night. I compared it to two alzheimers patients slap fighting in the "special" wing of the nursing home.

  • What a shurprise! (sic)
  • It's clear to me why more drinking is going on...

  • But that's mainly because I will not go to a bar while this virus is circulating. Winds up being cheaper anyway.
  • ... with more time on their hands. Go figure.

    Also, the local cantina never closed down during the pandemic. Neither did the pot shops.

  • by frank_adrian314159 ( 469671 ) on Wednesday September 30, 2020 @09:54AM (#60557260) Homepage

    Legalize weed.

  • I do not see the problem. Unless the number of alcohol abusers raises significantly, this is no cause for concern.

  • people are probably driving fewer miles?

    Fastest way for drink to kill is driving drunk.

  • It's so sad to hear such things... Actually I'm not surprised, we all feel quite depressed and very stressed because of this coronavirus... Anyway, as for me, I have found a few nice corporate wellness companies https://corporatewellnesscompa... [corporatew...panies.com] and I think that I will try their services to improve my health
  • I actually would have expected the increase to be much higher. Now I'm wondering if the median is actually less, and I'm personally just skewing the averages.
  • I was wondering what the bottom story of the year could possibly be - now I know.

  • Not unexpected. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Wednesday September 30, 2020 @10:53AM (#60557448)

    1. People are stuck at home, with less sources of entertainment and stress reduction.
    2. Not expecting to be driving anywhere, so might as well have that extra drink. Because you are not going anywhere.
    3. There is no sign of middle of the road politics, Either you are an Enemy of the State, or the Enemy of the State is out to get you.
    4. Many Business are closed, many people lost their jobs, many people are working from home. (I liked to go to the office, to escape the stresses of my home, and go home to escape the stresses of work, they are different stresses, so I can handle them much easier when they are separate)

    2020 Just Sucks While Covid-19 is the largest influence. there are other things happening that are not helping us work around the primary problem.

  • So covid has hardly contributed to drinking at all. Are people using other chemicals instead? I'm suspecting mostly not. So most are still going to work, and even those working from home are drinking just a wee bit more.

  • During the worst of the lockdowns there wasn't much else to do but get drunk alone and wallow in misery. Glad its over and sobriety is more than bearable again
  • ...why we can't get any hand sanitizer.

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • I am having a drink more often than in "normal times", although generally I'm still limiting myself to one drink when I do imbibe - largely because I know I don't have to get up at 6am the next day to go to work.

    I used to only drink on weekends because I wouldn't have to get up early the following morning. But now, sleeping until 8 and then commuting all of 30 feet has been a luxury - for many reasons.

  • The entire world is in chaos, the country is in chaos, we're more divided as a nation than we've ever been over anything in the last 244 years, our so-called 'leadership' has utterly and completely failed to 'lead' us, there's no end in sight for much of this (come on, election, save us from at least part of this!). So people are 'escaping' with alcohol and drug use? Gee whiz Mister Wizard, I would've never thought that would happen! For fuck's sake if I didn't know how much that short-term escape would fuc
    • What I do not get is why more people are not outraged that we have armed gangs (AKA, militias) - with colors on our streets, intimidating people and assaulting people.

      Like some third world country where warlords and their armed gangs running around.

      We have a leader who has encouraged them. Stand back and stand by!

      SERIOUSLY! The President of so-called law and order encouraging a gang?!

      And pretending that a few jackasses who show up at peaceful protests dressed in all black, destroying property, and exclai

      • Trump, like most bullies (and that's what he is, a loudmouthed bully) is fundamentally a coward. He's also racist and sexist, but being a coward, he won't publicly admit that, because he knows he'd be razed to the ground by the general public for it. So he speaks in code that the various racist groups understand. It's not coincidence that racism and racist groups have been more active and visible since 2016. They think that with Trump as POTUS, it's 'their day to shine', and they can beat on all non-whites
  • Wrong! The opiate of the masses is literal [synthetic] opium.

  • (n/t)
  • I agree a lot of people are turning to alcohol to relieve stress. Maybe it's stress from the pandemic, stress from work, or maybe because of family or personal problems. But most of the time, alcohol doesn't help. It may help 'temporarily'. addiction to alcohol can affect many things. Including our productivity. I wrote a blog about things that can help people be more productive. You can read it here: https://jamesnuguidva.wixsite.... [wixsite.com]

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