IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i4p2422-d753557.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Did COVID-19-Related Alcohol Sales Restrictions Reduce Alcohol Consumption? Findings from a National Online Survey in South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Marieke Theron

    (School of Public Health, Faculty of Community and Health Sciences, University of the Western Cape, Robert Sobukwe Road, Bellville 7535, South Africa)

  • Rina Swart

    (School of Public Health, Faculty of Community and Health Sciences, University of the Western Cape, Robert Sobukwe Road, Bellville 7535, South Africa)

  • Mukhethwa Londani

    (Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Francie van Zijl Drive, Cape Town 7505, South Africa)

  • Charles Parry

    (Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Francie van Zijl Drive, Cape Town 7505, South Africa
    Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town 7505, South Africa)

  • Petal Petersen Williams

    (Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Francie van Zijl Drive, Cape Town 7505, South Africa
    Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7935, South Africa)

  • Nadine Harker

    (Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Francie van Zijl Drive, Cape Town 7505, South Africa
    School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7935, South Africa)

Abstract

Background: South Africa has a high prevalence of heavy episodic drinking (HED). Due to the high levels of alcohol misuse and violence, public hospital intensive care units were often overrun during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research investigated alcohol intake behaviour change during differing levels of lockdown restrictions, which included bans on alcohol sales. Methods: A self-reported Facebook survey ran from July to November 2020. The questions included socio-demographics, income, alcohol intake, purchasing behaviour, and reasoning. Chi-square tests/Fisher’s exact test for categorical data, Student’s t -test for normal continuous data, and the Mann–Whitney U test for non-normal data were applied. Multiple logistic regression was run for HED versus moderate drinkers. Results: A total of 798 participants took part in the survey, of which 68.4% were female. Nearly 50% of participants fell into the HED category and the majority bought alcohol illegally during restrictions. HED respondents who drank more alcohol than usual during restrictions reported that they felt stressed, needed to relax, and were bored. Conclusions: Policies intended to increase the pricing of alcohol may have the potential to reduce alcohol intake. Reducing stress and anxiety may be key to curtailing HED during emergency situations.

Suggested Citation

  • Marieke Theron & Rina Swart & Mukhethwa Londani & Charles Parry & Petal Petersen Williams & Nadine Harker, 2022. "Did COVID-19-Related Alcohol Sales Restrictions Reduce Alcohol Consumption? Findings from a National Online Survey in South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-16, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:2422-:d:753557
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2422/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2422/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Julio Torales & Marcelo O’Higgins & João Mauricio Castaldelli-Maia & Antonio Ventriglio, 2020. "The outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus and its impact on global mental health," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 66(4), pages 317-320, June.
    2. Ihsaan Bassier & Joshua Budlender & Rocco Zizzamia & Ronak Jain, 2023. "The labour market and poverty impacts of COVID‐19 in South Africa," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 91(4), pages 419-445, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Thabiso E. Masena & Sarah L. Mahlangu & Sandile C. Shongwe, 2024. "Time Series Perspective on the Sustainability of the South African Food and Beverage Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-21, November.
    2. Xiaoyu Wang & Zaifei Ma & Chunan Wang, 2022. "A Longitudinal Study on the Addictive Behaviors of General Population before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-12, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cudjoe, Dan & Wang, Hong & zhu, Bangzhu, 2022. "Thermochemical treatment of daily COVID-19 single-use facemask waste: Power generation potential and environmental impact analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    2. Clemens Koestner & Viktoria Eggert & Theresa Dicks & Kristin Kalo & Carolina Zähme & Pavel Dietz & Stephan Letzel & Till Beutel, 2022. "Psychological Burdens among Teachers in Germany during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic—Subgroup Analysis from a Nationwide Cross-Sectional Online Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-16, August.
    3. Francesco Demaria & Stefano Vicari, 2023. "Adolescent Distress: Is There a Vaccine? Social and Cultural Considerations during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-11, January.
    4. Qingyuan Luo & Peng Zhang & Yijia Liu & Xiujie Ma & George Jennings, 2022. "Intervention of Physical Activity for University Students with Anxiety and Depression during the COVID-19 Pandemic Prevention and Control Period: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-20, November.
    5. Hai-Anh H. Dang & Cuong Viet Nguyen, 2024. "Agricultural Production as a Coping Strategy during the Covid-19 Pandemic? Evidence from Rural Viet Nam," Working Papers DP-2023-23, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
    6. Lígia Passos & Filipe Prazeres & Andreia Teixeira & Carlos Martins, 2020. "Impact on Mental Health Due to COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Study in Portugal and Brazil," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-13, September.
    7. Jian-Bin Li & An Yang & Kai Dou & Rebecca Y. M. Cheung, 2020. "Self-Control Moderates the Association Between Perceived Severity of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Mental Health Problems Among the Chinese Public," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-10, July.
    8. Alessandro Germani & Livia Buratta & Elisa Delvecchio & Claudia Mazzeschi, 2020. "Emerging Adults and COVID-19: The Role of Individualism-Collectivism on Perceived Risks and Psychological Maladjustment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-15, May.
    9. Chiara Consiglio & Nicoletta Massa & Valentina Sommovigo & Luigi Fusco, 2023. "Techno-Stress Creators, Burnout and Psychological Health among Remote Workers during the Pandemic: The Moderating Role of E-Work Self-Efficacy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(22), pages 1-23, November.
    10. Edmond Pui Hang Choi & Bryant Pui Hung Hui & Eric Yuk Fai Wan & Jojo Yan Yan Kwok & Tiffany Hei Lam Tam & Chanchan Wu, 2021. "COVID-19 and Health-Related Quality of Life: A Community-Based Online Survey in Hong Kong," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-12, March.
    11. Mihyeon Seong & Juyoung Park & Soojin Chung & Sohyune Sok, 2021. "Development of the Adult Pandemic Attitude Scale (A-PAS)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-15, June.
    12. Dana Alonzo & Marciana Popescu, 2022. "A qualitative examination of the mental health impact of Covid-19 in marginalized communities in Guatemala: The Covid Care Calls survey," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 68(7), pages 1435-1444, November.
    13. Martin Sanchez-Gomez & Gabriele Giorgi & Georgia Libera Finstad & Flavio Urbini & Giulia Foti & Nicola Mucci & Salvatore Zaffina & José M. León-Perez, 2021. "COVID-19 Pandemic as a Traumatic Event and Its Associations with Fear and Mental Health: A Cognitive-Activation Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-14, July.
    14. Miller, J. Jay & Niu, Chunling & Moody, Shannon, 2020. "Child welfare workers and peritraumatic distress: The impact of COVID-19," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    15. Fitzpatrick, Anne & Beg, Sabrin & Derksen, Laura & Karing, Anne & Kerwin, Jason & Lucas, Adrienne M. & Ordaz Reynoso, Natalia & Squires, Munir, 2021. "Health knowledge and non-pharmaceutical interventions during the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 33-53.
    16. Yinghui Huang & Hui Liu & Lin Zhang & Shen Li & Weijun Wang & Zhihong Ren & Zongkui Zhou & Xueyao Ma, 2021. "The Psychological and Behavioral Patterns of Online Psychological Help-Seekers before and during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Text Mining-Based Longitudinal Ecological Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-19, November.
    17. Mäntymäki, Matti & Najmul Islam, A.K.M. & Turel, Ofir & Dhir, Amandeep, 2022. "Coping with pandemics using social network sites: A psychological detachment perspective to COVID-19 stressors," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    18. Marilena Mousoulidou & Michailina Siakalli & Andri Christodoulou & Marios Argyrides, 2021. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health: Evidence from Cyprus," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-13, April.
    19. Berasategi Sancho, Naiara & Idoiaga Mondragon, Nahia & Dosil Santamaria, Maria & Eiguren Munitis, Amaia, 2021. "The Well-being of children in lock-down: Physical, emotional, social and academic impact," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    20. M. Dolores Merino & Coral Oliver-Hernández & M. Dolores Vallellano & Inmaculada Mateo, 2020. "Is It Possible to Find Something Positive in Being Confined Due to COVID-19? Implications for Well-Being," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-10, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:2422-:d:753557. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.