Alcohol and COVID-19: What you Need to Know

The current pandemic caused by coronavirus has changed our daily habits and routines. This scenario affects the whole of society and especially vulnerable groups such as people with addictions.

One of the substances that raise most of the concern is alcohol. Home detention can increase or return the desire to consume. Inactivity, excess family or time in loneliness, and in addition to that all the uncertainty about what is happening, can be risk factors.

There is the myth that drinking alcohol protects us against COVID-19. Alcohol is a harmful substance that has an adverse effect on virtually all organs of the body and the risk of health damage increases with every drink consumed.

Drinking alcohol excessively will weaken the immune system and reduce the ability to cope with infectious diseases, including COVID-19. Initially, its consumption can lead to pleasant states, but later it can lead to stress and anxiety. Alcohol, in addition, alters thoughts, sense of reality, decision-making, and behavior, and is associated with trauma and violence. Another good reason to avoid alcohol is that it often encourages smoking and vice versa. It should also be avoided because, in addition to all the harmful consequences for your health, tobacco use is associated with a more complicated and dangerous evolution of COVID-19.

Symptoms of alcohol addiction include anxiety about drinking, loss of control, inability to stop drinking, physical dependence that causes a withdrawal syndrome (sweating, fever, tremors) when it is stopped, and tolerance (need to drink ever greater amounts of alcohol). It prevents alcohol use from increasing smoking behaviour and vice versa, as smoking is associated with a more complicated and dangerous evolution of COVID-19.

We are sharing the Ministry of Health's recommendations regarding alcohol consumption during the pandemic here:

• Avoid alcohol consumption. It can weaken your immune system and your health and can put other people's health at risk.
• Seek help from healthcare professionals if you think you or someone near you is drinking alcohol without control.
• If you have sons and daughters, talk to them about the risky behaviors of alcohol use, including possible non-compliance with proposed distance measures to curb COVID-19.
• Do not use alcohol to cope with your emotions if you feel loneliness, talk with family or friends, or go to your referring healthcare professional.
• Never mix alcohol with medicines, including medicinal plants or non-prescription medicines, as alcohol can reduce its effectiveness or increase its potency to a toxic or dangerous level.
• Make sure that children do not have access to alcohol at home and do not drink in their presence. Control the time spent in front of screens, as the media may contain alcohol advertising and disinformation that can stimulate early onset and increased alcohol consumption.