According to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, there was an increase of 25.5% in the number of deaths related to alcohol in the USbetween 2019 and 2020.

A total of 78,927 alcohol-related deaths were reported in 2019, while 99,017 were reported in 2020, including accidents that happened due to driving after drinking. Alcohol-related deaths accounted for 2.8% of all deaths in 2019 and 3% in 2020.

Researchers state that such behavior was common owing to the increased stress levels due to the adversities of the pandemic. An increase of 16.6% was seen in deaths caused by any reasonduring this period but alcohol-related deaths surpassed other causes. Data from the CDC showed that January 2021 was the month with the highest number of alcohol-related deaths for the period from January 2019 to June 2021. The jump in alcohol-related deaths was seen across all age groups, with the age group between 35 and 44 years accounting for about 40% increase. Moreover, women exceeded the list.

The scenario was highly concerning and people needed counseling to cope with their stress levels in a healthy way.(CNN, March 18, 2022)