More People are Drinking During the COVID-19 Pandemic

WYSAC recently completed an internet survey involving behavior and attitudes toward COVID-19. We found that both the sale and consumption of alcohol has increased from February to April 2020, during the pandemic. After governments and employers put into place COVID-19 mitigation efforts, 17% of people reported increased alcohol consumption. Approximately 60% of that increase was due to boredom, while almost 46% and 44% were due to isolation and stress, respectively. Moreover, when looking at sales data, there were 5% more wine and spirit sales in Wyoming between the first few months of 2020 than in 2019, despite a significant decrease in the number of eligible liquor licenses. Continued monitoring will help us understand if these rises in alcohol use are temporary or whether they represent a lasting concern that may affect health in Wyoming. To see a fact sheet of the survey results in detail, go to the following link: https://bit.ly/wy-alc-covid