The pandemic may have created a nation of problem drinkers

 

The pandemic may have created a nation of problem drinkers

 

For many people, social drinking is a celebrated pastime. But the pandemic has turned social drinking into a problem for some.   "The data we have shows that drinking is definitely up since the start of the pandemic -- around a 14% increase in the number of drinking days per month," said Dr. Sarah Wakeman, medical director of the Substance Use Disorders Initiative at Massachusetts General Hospital.   For women, the numbers are even higher, she said. "There's actually been a 41% increase in heavy drinking days among women since onset of the pandemic.”   A higher level of drinking in women is worrisome because of the link between alcohol and the risk of female breast cancer.   "Any amount of drinking does increase your risk of breast cancer, and that is a unique risk among women," Wakeman said. "There really is no safe level of alcohol consumption when it comes to breast cancer."   On Thursday, the World Heart Federation released a policy brief with similar sentiments, saying no amount of alcohol is good for the heart.   "The evidence has increasingly shown that there is no level of alcohol consumption that is safe for health," said Beatriz Champagne, chair of the advocacy committee that produced the report.   But critics were swift to dispute the federation's stance, saying that it was ignoring studies that do show a small benefit to some heart conditions when a moderate amount of alcohol is consumed.