Water or Wine?

On March 24,  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a nation-wide lockdown. Due to the suddenness of this decision, individuals were unable to stock up on essentials such as food, medication, flu prevention items, etc. However, it seems that the populous was primarily concerned with the shortage of alcohol and closure of liquor shops. This week, alcohol consumption in India was greater than that of other essentials, such as distilled water. When the government allowed liquor shops to open for business this Wednesday, businesses were greeted with an average queue of 200 customers.

Upon opening liquor shops, the Indian government recorded a substantial increase of 426 coronavirus cases alone. In retrospective, Modi’s administration should have expected this eventuality due to the substantial amount of alcohol consumption in India. India is the second largest consumer of alcohol, thus, the opening of liquor stores was likely to draw large public gatherings. It may have been through these public gatherings that the coronavirus was able to freely spread. The proximity between customers in the liquor store queues was not properly managed, meaning that the virus could have easily spread from customer to customer. Due to the abundance of customers, India decided to suspend in-person liquor purchases and substitute it with other online purchase methods

Similar high alcohol consumption trends were found in the UK, where the harsh lockdown procedure has resulted in a pent-up demand for alcohol. The UK’s alcohol sales were up by 22% in March. The per-capita consumption is rising all across the world as consumers rush to purchase essentials, but a substantial percentage of this consumption spending is on alcohol.

Alcohol is a demerit good — a good that produces negative externalities and is over-consumed by the public. Due to the increasing consumption of alcohol during this pandemic, one must also consider the resulting global health impacts from over-consumption. Some of the many health consequences of alcohol consumption include the following: neurological degeneration, heart disease, liver damage, lung infection, etc. The world is currently focusing on the direct health consequences of the coronavirus, but it is equally important for individuals to consider how our decisions and actions during this pandemic can have a long-term effect on our health as well.

During these troubling times, addictions can be easily developed as people become used to a languid lifestyle. People are becoming used to a lifestyle that does not involve as many working hours, thus they are faced with the challenge of finding ways to pass the time. Some individuals may choose to adopt addictions to alcohol consumption or smoking that impact their lives well beyond the duration of Covid-19. People are mainly focusing on avoiding the direct consequences of the coronavirus but it is also important to take into account the secondary effects that this pandemic has on our lives.

Global health advisers from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other reputed organisations suggest individuals to find conducive hobbies that will keep oneself mentally but also physically active. It is also equally important that individuals avoid developing habits and addictions that may result in future health consequences. The WHO’s larger hurdles may present themselves in the aftermath of Covid-19, where the WHO will have to tackle a uptick of health cases arising from the over-consumption of demerit goods.