'Drinking 30 bottles of wine a month was ruining my life'

Working from home, now the norm for many, is causing an explosion in problem drinking across the country

- JOAN MCFADDEN

Squinting through another blinding headache, Adriana Cloud shuddered when she spotted the empty wine bottle on the floor. As she stumbled to her feet she realised she’d passed out on the sofa yet again and was consumed with guilt and shame.

The editorial project manager, 43, from London, knew that in just a few hours she had to appear bright and business-like for an important Zoom call, but her colleagues wouldn’t be able to smell the alcohol on her breath and with her office now in her living room she could conceal her drinking easily.

She explains, “I was knocking back a bottle of wine a night, seven days a week, sometimes even two and my hangovers were getting worse. It’s horrifying to realise I was drinking at least 30 bottles of wine a month. I wanted to stop but every night I fell back into the same old routine.

“With no commute home, I was pouring the first glass of wine earlier and earlier, and staying up later drinking. I went to the shops to buy wine every day, sometimes twice a day.

“I spent hundreds of pounds, running into thousands, on alcohol and all I thought about was drinking – it was ruining my life.”

Sadly Adriana’s story is not unusual. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show deaths from alcohol are now soaring in the UK.

In 2022, there were 10,048 deaths from alcohol-specific causes registered in the UK, the highest number on record. That’s 32.8% higher than the 2019 figure of 7,565.

Experts believe the shocking increase is due to a change in drinking habits following the lockdowns and more people working from home. The blurred lines between work and home life became a massive lockdown issue that continues today.