Long lines in front of liquor and pot outlets, telecommuting workers worrying about their mental health, young parents trying to cope with home schooling—for two years now, the news has been full of people struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic.

But have social isolation, financial difficulties and psychological distress really resulted in an increase in the use of psychoactive substances such as alcohol, cannabis, cigarettes and e-cigarettes, as news reports suggest?

In general, no, except among the less educated and socially isolated, according to a Canadian-led study published in The Lancet Regional Health—Americas.