Objective: The measures put in place to contain the coronavirus epidemic in France have led to fears of a massive increase in the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
Method: Taking advantage of an ongoing weekly Internet survey monitoring living conditions of the French population during the containment, we introduced questions on alcohol and tobacco use 1 month after the start of the first containment. Analyses were conducted with multivariate Poisson regressions.
Results: Tobacco consumption remained almost unchanged. By contrast, more than a third of French people did change their weekly alcohol intake: 13% increased it, whereas 21% decreased it, indicating that the containment measures were often taken as an opportunity to reduce alcohol consumption, especially among those who drank less than 4 days per week before. Men were more likely to decrease their alcohol intake and less likely to increase it than women, probably because of a differential impact of the reduction of social activities on gendered social roles. The people most affected were smokers and those living in a dwelling in which someone had been infected, including themselves.
Conclusions: The crisis tended to polarize alcohol consumption toward extremes. If the new drinking habits were to continue, the consequences could be beneficial for occasional drinkers but harmful for heavier drinkers.