Sask. alcohol sales increase leading to jump in harms: Expert

An increase in liquor sales is getting the attention of addiction experts in Saskatchewan.

The Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Association (SLGA) reported a 7.9 per cent increase in wholesale operations sales to retailers across the province in 2020.

With bars and restaurants closed after the arrival of COVID-19, and operating with added restrictions since reopening, it’s not hard to imagine more people are drinking at home.

Dr. Peter Butt, an associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine and a consultant in addiction medicine, is calling the increase “significant.”

“I doubt that there’s been another year that has seen a jump that’s beginning to approach 10 per cent,” Butt said. “On the other hand, I’m not surprised because of the increased numbers of harms that I see at my practice.”

A study commissioned by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction from April 2020 showed a pattern of increased consumption a few weeks after the pandemic began shutting down businesses.

Twenty-five per cent of Canadians between the ages of 35 and 54 said they were drinking more due to stress, boredom and a lack of a regular schedule. Twenty-one per cent of people aged 18 to 34 cited the same reasons for drinking more.

Overall, 18 per cent of respondents noted an increase in consumption.

“We’re certainly seeing an increase in the number of admissions for people requiring hospitalization for withdrawal from alcohol,” Butt said.

The pandemic has altered behaviour and frequency for drinking, Butt said.

“Their day-to-day lives have been greatly disrupted, they may be working from home (and) every day of the week may seem like a weekend,” Butt said.

Butt said the increase in sales doesn’t reveal the full story in drinking habits, which could mean light drinkers are drinking more often or moderate drinkers are now drinking heavily.

“People that have been drinking perhaps lightly or intermittently are escalating to daily drinking to heavy daily drinking,” Butt said.

“It’s simply an incremental process before they get to the point where they’re drinking earlier in the day to avoid the shakes associated with their withdrawal.”

Further creating a problem for addiction services is capacity limitations due to COVID-19 health measures.

Detox centres and other treatment centres aren’t able to accommodate the same number of people as they were prior to the pandemic.

“I think as people start going back to work and realize that their chemical coping is not working for them any longer, there will be an increased access of services in the community,” Butt said.

Alcohol-related health issues could last longer than the pandemic given how difficult it might be for some people to change established behaviour, according to Butt.

“It’s really about winding things back, helping people put together a life worth living without using,” he said.

“It’s going to take a while for people to get life back in order again.”