• Stress-related drinking and alcohol-related deaths increased during the pandemic and research shows those increases didn’t stop as the pandemic ended.
• One doctor explained to CBS, “Originally, the increase in drinking was due to social isolation, disruption and daily activity and general lack of accessibility to healthcare and mental healthcare during a really stressful time. However, we’re seeing that these trends are sustained, meaning that either people don’t know where to get help (or) they don’t know that they need help.”
• The increase is being called a public health issue as alcohol is a leading cause of illness and death in the US.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alcohol-use-pandemic-increases/