Alcohol purchasing and consumption: learning from pandemic containment measures for more effective alcohol policy

The community wide physical distancing currently in place in New South Wales, Australia, and indeed across the globe in response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is a public health intervention on a scale never seen before. It has seen dramatic changes in alcohol policy, including the closure of licensed venues and anecdotally increases in off-license purchasing. But we do not know how the containment measures will affect alcohol consumption and related harm, a leading cause of disease globally. Studying the effects of these dramatic alcohol policy changes in NSW will be vital to inform current alcohol control strategies, provide internationally comparative data, and contribute to evidence-informed alcohol policy in the future. What is urgently needed is threefold: documentation of all the containment measures over time with regards to their effects on access to and availability of alcohol in NSW; in-depth insights into people's experiences of containment in relation to alcohol purchasing and consumption; and quantitative data on changes in drinking behaviours during and after containment. Aims To detail the policy changes to alcohol availability in NSW (weekly, from early February through to end of July). This will not only serve as research infrastructure for future research on alcohol policy changes, but also provide the context to analyse our second research aim To obtain insights into changes in alcohol purchasing and consumption behaviour before, during and after the COVID-19 containment measures to inform future alcohol policy. Outcomes A policy database of changes to alcohol access introduced in NSW in response to COVID-19. This will be a key piece of research infrastructure for future alcohol policy research Analysis of the ways in which people have changed their purchasing and consumption behaviour, and how that relates to the policy measures Understanding of potential areas of decreased alcohol-related harm and potential areas of increased alcohol-related harm, from the perspective of current NSW community members Evidence regarding the impact of changes to alcohol availability on people's drinking behaviours Advice to governments about the future implications for alcohol policy in Australia