Alcohol use and misuse during the COVID-19 pandemic: a potential public health crisis?

In an attempt to control the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, governments across the world have implemented distancing measures during the search for medical countermeasures, resulting in millions of people being isolated for long periods. Alcohol misuse is one of the leading causes of preventable mortality, contributing annually to about 3 million deaths worldwide.1 In some individuals, long term, excessive alcohol misuse might escalate into an alcohol use disorder. The potential public health effects of long-term isolation on alcohol use and misuse are unknown.