Britons have been drinking earlier in the day than people from most other nations during the coronavirus pandemic, a survey has revealed.
Nearly 47% of Britons who drink reported doing so earlier in the day than in February, compared with 23.3% in Greece at the other end of the spectrum, an interim report for the Global Drug Survey (GDS) shows.
More than 50% of British drinkers who responded reported an increase in the number of days consuming alcohol each week during the Covid-19 crisis, with a third reporting an increase in binge drinking. The main reasons given for increased drinking were boredom and having more time to drink.
Poorer physical health was cited by more than 40% as a consequence of increased drinking, with decreased mental health, work performance and pleasure from drinking also commonly reported.
Similarly, of those who have drunk less during the period, more than 60% reported improvements in physical health and more than 40% improvement in finances.
Prof Adam Winstock, a consultant psychiatrist and addiction medicine specialist and founder and director of the survey, said: “The survey shows that what you do matters. In a short period, people are feeling worse off mentally and physically through drinking.
“And we see the real significant benefits of drinking less. This is not about being sober and not getting tipsy. Just drop a day or two to see a difference.”
The GDS special edition on Covid-19 was developed as part of a global effort to understand the impact of the pandemic on people’s lives, with a specific focus on the use of alcohol and other drugs, mental health and relationships.
The majority of participants tend to be young, experienced with the use of illicit drugs, and employed or in education. There have been about 55,000 participants globally to date. The interim report is based on data from 12 countries.
Globally, around 35% of participants who take benzodiazepines, also known as benzos and usually prescribed to treat anxiety and insomnia, reported an increase in use.
The report said this can be viewed as a coping strategy and their use may compensate for access to other drugs.
But it added that their “efficacy as a long-term strategy for managing anxiety is poor, misuse and dependence are a real concern, withdrawal being protracted and, in some cases where higher doses are stopped suddenly, life-threatening”.
Winstock added that benzos were “diabolical” in the long term, with some people taking up to two years to wean themselves off the medication. They are typically only prescribed for a maximum of two weeks.
Niamh Eastwood, the executive director of the thinktank Release, said: “Release has set up a national monitoring network, made up of drug user activists, recovery folks, peers and harm reduction workers and the reports very much reflect the findings of the Global Drugs Survey.
“In particular, the use of street benzos has increased significantly amongst people who are drug dependent. This is because these drugs are cheap to purchase and as people have lost income from begging and other similar activities they have moved to these substances, which are widely available.
“There are also reports of young people increasingly using drugs like Xanax, often ordered online. Neither of these developments are surprising considering that lots of people are reporting increased anxiety due to Covid-19 and the lockdown.
“This is why we need to support the safe supply of these substances, by prescribing benzodiazepines to people who are dependent thereby reducing their reliance on the illegal market and engaging them with drug services.”
Across all countries surveyed, 40% of cannabis users reported an increase in consumption, due to having more free time and being bored.
For MDMA and cocaine, about 40% reported using less during the pandemic with the main reasons being fewer opportunities to use and less contact with people whom they use with.
An additional question revealed the UK’s participants were the second least satisfied with the leadership of their country’s government during the pandemic, with only Brazil’s participants less satisfied.
The survey included a number of opt-in questions about tensions in relationships before and after Covid-19, and about behaviours ranging from physical abuse to being stopped from seeing or talking to family or friends, having access to money or checking contacts on social media.
There was an increase in those reporting some or a lot of tension in their intimate relationships, from 42% to 49%, during the period, although most – 74% – reported no change in the tension in their relationship.
The survey is still open and can be completed here.