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For example, alcohol and cigarette consumption have changed in the pandemic

2021-12-27T11:50:45.802Z


In any case, people smoke more in Germany than elsewhere - now the number of consumers is increasing. And: One group in particular drank more alcohol than before during the pandemic.


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The smoking and drinking habits of people in Germany have changed during the pandemic (symbol photo)

Photo: ZOA PHOTO / Stocksy United

During the corona pandemic, the proportion of smokers in Germany has apparently increased: it is currently almost 31 percent in people aged 14 and over, as the representative long-term study Debra (German survey on smoking behavior) shows.

At the end of 2019, before Corona, the proportion of smokers in the population was still around 27 percent.

It is likely that more fresh ex-smokers relapsed in the past year, says addiction researcher and Debra director Daniel Kotz.

"Whether corona stress or the general effects of the pandemic are playing a role here is a bit speculative, but it can be."

Even before the corona pandemic, a declining motivation to quit smoking could be observed in Germany, explains epidemiologist Kotz, who is also head of the addiction research focus at the Center for Health and Society at the University Clinic in Düsseldorf.

Fewer people would also try to quit smoking.

Good news: There is a clear trend among young people not to even start.

There were also changes in alcohol consumption. In the wake of the corona pandemic, there were fewer opportunities to drink together, says addiction specialist and medical director Falk Kiefer from the Central Institute for Mental Health in Mannheim. Nevertheless, the average alcohol consumption in Germany remained roughly the same compared to the time before the pandemic.

He has shifted to the apartments and to a special subgroup of consumers, explains Kiefer, who is President of the German Society for Addiction Research and Addiction Therapy.

"People who have already regularly drunk alcohol at home, for example to have a nice drink in the evening - to drive away loneliness, boredom or worries - now drink more." Around 25 percent of adults are affected.

Others, on the other hand - the social and party drinkers - reduced their consumption on average.

According to the Federal Association of Wine and Spirits International, sales of wine and sparkling wine rose in food retailing and online retailing, which at least partially compensates for the sharp declines in the catering sector caused by the pandemic.

"People who found the pandemic stressful drank more on average than others," says Kiefer.

Stress factors are, for example, multiple burdens from children in homeschooling or spouses in the home office.

Boredom and the feeling of not being used are also reasons to drink for some.

In the first lockdown, according to a study by the Central Institute and the Nuremberg University Hospital, 37 percent of over 2000 adults surveyed stated that they consumed more alcohol than before, and 21 percent less.

A similar picture emerged for tobacco consumption.

Even if such studies are based on self-reports, often collected online, the results are reliable due to the high number of cases and international comparability, according to Kiefer.

According to a current analysis by the Barmer health insurance company, 820,000 men and 329,000 women in Germany were proven to be dependent on alcohol last year, i.e. they were diagnosed with alcohol dependence.

People in the second half of life are particularly affected.

wbr / dpa

Source: spiegel

All life articles on 2021-12-27

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