Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 May;44(4):1207-1221.
doi: 10.1111/dar.14035. Epub 2025 Mar 3.

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

Benjamin Petruželka  1   2 , Miroslav Barták  1   2 , Vladimir Rogalewicz  3 , Thomas F Babor  4
Affiliations

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

Benjamin Petruželka et al. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2025 May.

Abstract

Introduction: 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.

Methods: 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.

Results: 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.

Discussion and conclusions: 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.

Keywords: COVID‐19; alcohol availability; alcohol sales; time series; tourism.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Benjamin Petruželka has no interests to declare. Miroslav Barták has no interests to declare. Vladimir Rogalewicz has no interests to declare. Thomas F. Babor has no interests to declare.

Figures

FIGURE A2
FIGURE A2
Alcohol sales in Czech Republic.
FIGURE A3
FIGURE A3
COVID‐19 related restrictions.
FIGURE A4
FIGURE A4
Number of new COVID‐19 cases.
FIGURE A5
FIGURE A5
Number of foreign overnight tourists.
FIGURE A7
FIGURE A7
Partial effect of GRSI on alcohol sales (95% CI).
FIGURE A8
FIGURE A8
Partial effect of GRSI with lag on overall sales (95% CI).
FIGURE A9
FIGURE A9
Partial effect of GRSI on total retail sales (95% CI).
FIGURE A10
FIGURE A10
Partial effect of number of tourists on total retail sales (95% CI)
FIGURE A11
FIGURE A11
Partial effect of GRSI on hh/sm sales (95% CI).
FIGURE A12
FIGURE A12
Partial effect of GRSI with lag on hh/sm sales (95% CI).
FIGURE A13
FIGURE A13
Partial effect of number of tourists on total retail sales (95% CI)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Acuff SF, Strickland JC, Tucker JA, Murphy JG. Changes in alcohol use during COVID‐19 and associations with contextual and individual difference variables: a systematic review and meta‐analysis. Psychol Addict Behav. 2022;36:1–19. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kilian C, O'Donnell A, Potapova N, López‐Pelayo H, Schulte B, Miquel L, et al. Changes in alcohol use during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Europe: a meta‐analysis of observational studies. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2022;41:918–931. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sohi I, Chrystoja BR, Rehm J, Wells S, Monteiro M, Ali S, et al. Changes in alcohol use during the COVID‐19 pandemic and previous pandemics: a systematic review. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2022;46:498–513. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kilian C, Rehm J, Allebeck P, Braddick F, Gual A, Barták M, et al. Alcohol consumption during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Europe: a large‐scale cross‐sectional study in 21 countries. Addiction. 2021;116:3369–3380. - PubMed
    1. Lee BP, Dodge JL, Leventhal A, Terrault NA. Retail alcohol and tobacco sales during COVID‐19. Ann Intern Med. 2021;174:1027–1029. - PMC - PubMed