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Background and Aims Given the growing concerns that international trade agreements may increase the supply of health‐harming commodities, including alcohol, this study aimed to investigate the changes in alcoholic beverage preference and consumption after Taiwan's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Design A before‐and‐after comparison analysis using data from two waves (1993–1996 and 2005–2008) of the Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (NAHSIT), before and after Taiwan's accession to the WTO in 2002. Setting Taiwan. Participants A total of 5031 and 2910 participants aged 19 years or older in NAHSIT 1993–1996 and 2005–2008, respectively. Measurements Alcohol measures included beverage‐specific preference, mean daily ethanol consumption, and heavy drinking. Logistic regression was used to estimate the prevalence rate ratios and rate differences of beverage preferences between the two waves and the risk ratios of heavy drinking associated with different beverage preferences. Findings A reduced prevalence rate of drinkers who preferred rice spirits (prevalence rate ratio [PRR] = 0.47; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.24, 0.91) and Asian wine (PRR = 0.11; 95% CI = 0.04, 0.29) was found in contrast to an increase in the preference for fruit wine (PRR = 2.90; 95% CI = 1.75, 4.79); the preference for Asian spirits showed a non‐significant increase (PRR = 1.63; 95% CI = 0.88, 3.02). Similarly, the mean daily ethanol consumption decreased for Asian wine and increased for Asian spirits. Compared with beer, an increased risk of heavy drinking was associated with rice spirits (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] = 3.30; 95% CI = 1.68, 6.47) and Asian spirits (aRR = 2.64; 95% CI = 1.38, 5.01). Conclusions After Taiwan became a member of the World Trade Organization and abolished its alcohol monopoly in 2002, the pattern of alcoholic beverage preference changed markedly, including a decrease in drinkers who preferred rice spirits and Asian wine (53% and 89% decrease, respectively) and an increase in drinkers who preferred fruit wine and Asian spirits (2.9‐fold and 1.6‐fold increase, respectively).

This study reported domestic and overseas Taiwanese people’s perceived stress levels and examined the mediation effect of their coping strategies during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. We recruited 2727 Taiwanese respondents from the COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey (N = 173,426) between March 30 and May 30, 2020. The self-report questionnaire included a modified 10-item Perceived Stress Scale and a 16-item coping strategy scale. Three stress-coping factors were extracted with principal component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Their effects were examined through a regression and mediation analysis. The overseas Taiwanese participants had a significantly higher stress level than domestic counterparts (2.89 to 2.69 in 1–5 scale, p < 0.001). Government guidance was associated with lower stress level among domestic (− 0.097, 95% C.I. [− 0.131, − 0.063]) but not overseas Taiwanese (0.025, [− 0.114, 0.163]). The association of stress level with residency was mediated by coping strategies, for government guidance (0.04, [0.01, 0.07], ref: domestic participants) and supportive social networks (− 0.03, [− 0.05, − 0.01]). All results hold after the propensity score matching on samples. Government guidance on COVID-19 as a channel for coping with stress is correlated with the residency status of the respondents. Public health authorities should recognize the importance of various mental health interventions during pandemics.