Alcohol deliveries should be stopped with at-risk families most vulnerable to violence and other harm, agencies say.
However, the New Zealand Alcohol Beverages Council says alcohol is no more available than pre-lockdown and contactless deliveries were helping people stay home in the fight against Covid.
Mount Maunganui GP Tony Farrell, who specialises in addiction, is "firmly" against alcohol being delivered during alert level 4.
Farrell said a midwife has spoken about women unable to leave the house due to lockdown and fearing leaving the children with a risky drinker.
"The more available this drug is, the more harm can be caused."
He said the current alcohol environment failed to protect tangata whenua who suffered disproportionate levels of alcohol-related harm.
He said younger people also suffered more harm if they had more access.
Last year, Farrell was one of 12 Tauranga doctors to sign a letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern urging an immediate halt to alcohol delivered to people's doorsteps.
He said intoxicated people posed a huge risk to public health during the crisis - leaving their bubble, taking risks, getting injured and lowering their immunity.
"I remain firmly opposed to alcohol being available on a contactless basis. It is not essential that this service operates in a level 4 setting, as alcohol-dependent people can access alcohol through supermarkets.
"We need a public health response to alcohol in New Zealand, and making alcohol more available during lockdown is contrary to that approach."
He said while alcohol did not need to be eliminated, the excise tax should be increased, accessibility reduced and advertising stopped.
A survey by Te Hiringa Hauora - Health Promotion Agency last year found one in five people drank more than they did prior to lockdown. The increase was most prevalent among 25 to 49-year-olds.
Roughly one in five Māori, Pasifika, and 18 to 24-year-old drinkers increased their drinking in lockdown too.
Roughly one-third drank less, and nearly half drank their usual amounts.
Most used alcohol as a way to relax or switch off, with anxiety, stress and boredom other factors.
Tē Tuinga Whānau Support Services Trust social worker Sai Watson-Crook said they had already needed to evict someone from emergency housing due to alcohol-related issues. That involved the police.
There had already been two cases in transitional housing where tenants had broken one of the house rules, which was no drinking.
"When you're in lockdown and you can't leave your home, it's just going to cause problems, especially when domestic violence rises in that time and we know alcohol fuels that."
She said people could become aggressive when they drank which was especially dangerous in families where parents were turned to alcohol to deal with the stress of job loss or working from home.
This then could result in children being neglected or being exposed to violence.
"How is alcohol an essential service ... What's this teaching the kids?"
She said allowing the deliveries was not looking to protect families.
Liz Davies, general manager of Social Link, the umbrella group for social services in the city, said alcohol was a well-known fuel to family violence.
"Increased availability of alcohol heightens the risk of family harm, which is particularly dangerous in lockdown when victims are often living with perpetrators of family harm."
She said the increased anxiety and uncertainty felt by many due to lockdown may also result in increased use of alcohol, which was more reason to reduce the availability.
New Zealand Alcohol Beverages Council executive director Bridget MacDonald said alcohol was no more available than pre-lockdown, and liquor outlets were reporting normal shopping behaviour.
Online delivery was growing naturally with general changes to consumer preferences, and online sales increased by 27.5 per cent last year, according to research by Euromonitor International.
She said businesses operating in the sale, supply and delivery of alcohol needed to strictly adhere to the very clear regulatory obligations and guidelines already in place.
MacDonald said last year the initial online spike in lockdown tapered off quickly, however. People used the option to shop online to avoid unnecessary travel and limit interactions with people outside their bubble, "which is what our Government want us to do".
"Liquor stores are legitimate and highly regulated businesses operating under the direction and guidelines from the Government."
She said despite people rushing to buy food, drinks and toilet paper when the lockdown was announced, it didn't mean it would be used immediately.
The Government approving the sale and contactless delivery as an essential service was to minimise the spread of Covid by minimising movements, she said.
"Kiwis are making better decisions around alcohol based on their personal circumstances and lifestyle.
"As a result, hazardous drinking is declining, fewer younger people are drinking, and our consumption is decreasing and below the OECD average."
Alcohol Healthwatch executive director Nicki Jackson said there were concerns around the lack of age verification, the ability to leave alcohol unattended, and the lack of ability to check for signs of intoxication by the receiver.
She said "we should be doing more" to stop what happened last lockdown where 20 per cent of drinkers increased their drinking, given the extensive harm caused by alcohol.
In a report by Healthwatch - Building a fairer and healthier future for Aotearoa New Zealand - the collated research outlined that alcohol caused death, injury, disability, disproportionate harm to Māori, increased the likelihood of domestic violence and maltreatment of children.
"New Zealand research has shown that drinkers who bought alcohol online last lockdown were more likely to drink heavily and to use online alcohol delivery to 'top up'."
She said many Kiwis drank more last lockdown as a way to cope, and this kind of drinking led to heavier drinking and thus more harm.
"Online alcohol sales should not be an essential service."
She said a study of dependent drinkers in New Zealand last lockdown found many spirit drinkers switched to beer and wine or were more successful in quitting drinking than beer and wine drinkers.
She said the current law for online alcohol sales was "not fit for purpose", developed citing deliveries after at least 24 hours, whereas now it could be within minutes.
Jackson said bottle stores did not need to submit any documentation that they were selling online. It was just online-only alcohol retailers that needed a remote sales licence.
She said everyone who sold alcohol remotely should have a specific licence.
"The police and council can't determine compliance with the law if they don't have a list of premises that are selling online.
"Restricting access to our most harmful drug during a pandemic should never be considered an over-reaction. We should be prioritising our physical health and mental wellbeing."
Alcohol Healthwatch supported the World Health Organisation recommendations to restrict alcohol access during the pandemic.
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