Alcohol News - 19/2020

EURACTIV (Finland) - Alcohol consumption in Finland skyrockets amid pandemic
Statistics reveal that alcohol sales in Finland increased by 23% in April compared to the year before. Finnish national alcoholic beverage retailing monopoly, Alko, saw its sales of Rosé wine increase by 40% that month, while red and white wins saw a 35% and 28% increase respectively.
Read more

Voice of America (USA) - Alcohol Flying Off Shelves at 'Essential' US Liquor Stores
Business is booming for alcohol in the United States during the coronavirus pandemic as Americans on lockdown battle boredom and anxieties at home. 
Read more

The Conversation AU (New Zealand) - Alcohol can make coronavirus worse – so why was it treated as essential in New Zealand’s lockdown?
New Zealand has won international praise for its strict lockdown conditions and public health response to COVID-19, but there’s one glaring blindspot.
Read more

ABC News (Australia) - Alcohol ads appearing every 35 seconds during pandemic
Experts are concerned about a "deluge" of alcohol advertising during lockdown encouraging unhealthy drinking. In just one hour on a Friday night, 107 sponsored alcohol advertisements were displayed on a user’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, around one every 35 seconds.
Read more

The Moscow Times (Russia) - Russia Mulls Raising Legal Drinking Age After Deaths Spike
Russia's health minister on Wednesday said it was necessary to raise the legal age to buy alcohol to 21 after an increase in drink-related deaths during the coronavirus epidemic.
Read more

News-Medical.net - MRI reveals signs of fetal alcohol syndrome in the womb
New images reveal the earliest impairments to nonhuman primate fetal brain development due to alcohol ingested by the mother, in a study led by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University involving rhesus macaques.
Read more

CBC.ca (Canada) - Nunavut hamlet bans alcohol to encourage physical distancing
The hamlet of Grise Fiord, Nunavut, has temporarily banned alcohol because of COVID-19. The ban runs from May 5 to May 18, and again from May 21 until June 3.
Read more

WVLT.TV (USA) - Pandemic may lead to 75,000 deaths from suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, study says
COVID-19 has directly claimed tens of thousands of U.S. lives, but conditions stemming from the novel coronavirus — rampant unemployment, isolation and an uncertain future — could lead to 75,000 deaths from drug or alcohol abuse and suicide, new research suggests.
Read more

WalesOnline (Wales) - ‘I was drinking a litre of whiskey every single day' - life as a recovering addict in lockdown
Tim Morgan's bedroom at his parents' house in Caerphilly is almost boredom-proof. On the floor next to his bed lies a rolled up yoga mat and a pair of dumbbells.
Read more

Gov.ie (Ireland) - Minister for Health highlights advice and supports for people with alcohol related problems during COVID-19
Minister for Health, Simon Harris TD, and Minister of State for Health Promotion and the National Drugs Strategy, Catherine Byrne, today highlighted advice and supports for people with alcohol related problems during COVID-19.
Read more

Medical Xpress - Gene mutation combined with drinking habits appears to increase risk of gastric cancer in East Asian people
A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in Japan has found an increased risk of gastric cancer in East Asian people who have a certain gene mutation and who also have certain drinking habits.
Read more

Live95 (Ireland) - Fresh Calls For Cancer Warnings On Booze
Alcohol Action Ireland says the public needs to know the risk. It's put a submission to the EU's "Beating Cancer Plan" consultation.
Read more

France 24 (France) - Paris police bans alcohol along Seine river as crowds revel in new-found freedom
Police in the French capital declared a ban on alcoholic drinks on the banks of the Seine and the popular Canal Saint-Martin after crowds gathered there on Monday evening to enjoy their newly recovered freedom following eight weeks of lockdown. The Paris mayor has called for face masks to be made obligatory throughout the city.
Read more

Focus (USA) – COVID-19 and Relaxed Alcohol Laws
This chart details which states have listed alcohol-related businesses as essential/non-essential, alcohol-specific orders, laws and related changes and other COVID-19-related policy information impacting the beer, wine and alcohol industry.
Read more

The Sidney Morning Herald (Australia) - 'Smoke and mirrors': Food minister defends delay on alcohol pregnancy warnings
The Morrison government's food minister Richard Colbeck has defended a delay in rolling out new pregnancy warning labels on alcohol bottles, saying he remains committed to making them mandatory - but echoed industry concerns about cost.
Read more