# What drove changes in alcohol sales during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Czechia? An interrupted time series analyses

## TL;DR

This study examines how alcohol sales in Czechia changed during the pandemic, finding that government restrictions, not tourism or new cases, best explain the decline.

## Contribution

The study introduces a novel approach to disentangle the effects of different pandemic-related interventions on alcohol sales.

## Key findings

- Alcohol sales in Czechia decreased primarily due to government response stringency, not new cases.
- Restrictions on social encounters, not just tourism or availability, contributed to the decline in alcohol sales.
- The study highlights the importance of considering social restrictions in pandemic-related consumption research.

## Abstract

Research on the effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic on alcohol sales and per capita consumption show mixed findings. The present study of alcohol sales in Czechia attempts to account for this heterogeneity by investigating three types of interventions: (i) limits on the movement of people into the country (i.e., tourism); (ii) social mobility and assembly restrictions; and (iii) restrictions on alcohol sales.

We used general additive models to assess the relationship between alcohol sales and COVID‐19‐related restrictions that were specific to alcohol outlets and general restrictions measured by the Government Response Stringency Index. New COVID‐19 cases and the number of overnight stays by foreign tourists were also included in the models.

The analysis of total sales revenues show that the overall amount of alcohol sold in the Czech Republic decreased due to the COVID‐19 related measures and the decrease is best explained by the Government Response Stringency Index. We did not find any relationship between alcohol sales and the number of new COVID‐19 cases.

The decline in total alcohol sales resulting from the COVID‐19 restrictions was not just the result of reduced tourism and restrictions on physical availability of alcohol, but also of restrictions limiting social encounters. This should be considered in future research comparing the trends in different countries and incorporated into plans for controlling the spread of communicable diseases in future epidemics.