Essential Medicine

Australia's laissez-faire relationship with booze brings with it a whole assortment of cultural and societal issues, yet despite our awareness of this most of us still enjoy a beer or a glass of wine every night. But when cities went into lockdown across the country at the beginning of the pandemic, for some that one glass slowly turned into one bottle, enjoyed alone and without the company of friends and family. Sam Mills and Katie Johnson speak to Australians who turned to alcohol in lockdown - and experts who say the general trends and attitudes towards booze in Australia might be changing.