A joint study done by the researchers from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) have found that, on average, rural households in India spend Rs 278 crore and consume 3.7 crore liter per month on all alcoholic beverages.

In comparison to rural households, urban households spend Rs 132 crore and consume 80 lakh liter per month on all alcoholic beverages.

Researchers looked at the amount of alcohol consumption and the money spent on alcohol in rural and urban households based on different income groups. It clearly stated that average households spend about 1 percent of monthly income on alcohol.

“Indian households spends approximately Rs 410 crore on alcohol and consume 4.5 crore liter per month. The total consumption of all alcoholic beverages in India, on an average, is 0.22 L in rural areas and 0.10 L in urban areas per month per household. Indian households consume an average of 0.18 L of all alcoholic beverages per month,” Akash Sood, Research Assistant, Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi, co-author of this study, told TheHealth.Today.

The findings of the study are published in the Asian Journal of Psychiatry. This study has covered all the states and the union territories of India, with the national sample comprised about 65,000 households.

The source of the data for this analysis was the 68th round of Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) conducted by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) in 2011-12.

Speaking exclusively with TheHealth.Today, Dr. Atul Ambekar, Professor of psychiatry at AIIMS’s National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) said, “When income rises in rural households, people start spending more on alcohol. In urban areas the expenditure also increases with the rise of income. However, the highest income group consumes more alcohol in rural areas (0.46 L) compared to urban areas (0.19 L) per month”.

Why Increasing Trend of Alcohol Use is A Problem?

As per WHO report, alcohol intake was responsible for 5.1% of the global burden of disease in 2014 which is equivalent to 139 million disability adjusted life years (DALYs).

AIIMS also conducted a National Drug Survey (NDS) 2019 commissioned by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India.

“Alcohol use was reported in all the age groups including among children aged 10-17 years. More than 5.7 crore individuals are affected by harmful or dependent alcohol use. They need immediate help for their alcohol use problems. Nearly one in five alcohol users suffers from alcohol dependence and needs urgent treatment,” stated in National Drug Survey.

Study also revealed that alcohol users experience like ‘getting involved in physical fights’ after drinking and ‘day time consumption of alcohol’. More ‘road traffic accidents’ occur under the influence of alcohol.

Research claims that 2.9 crore individuals have alcohol dependency. Dr Smita Despandy, Head of Psychiatry Department, RML Hospital, Delhi, said, “Multiple problems arise from alcohol dependency. Alcohol dependent users start losing control over mind. There are social, physical and psychological complications because of alcohol. Every aspect of their life is affected. Primacy of their life is procuring and consuming alcohol only. Intoxication makes them incapable to make decisions and aggravates the anger in them”.

Observations made by the researchers in National Drug Survey are:

• A high majority of alcohol users are males (about 95%).
• India needs massive investments in enhancing the treatment for substance use disorder.
• There is an urgent need of outpatient clinics with trained human resources, medicines and supplies.
• Prevention programs must ensure that young people grow and stay healthy into adulthood.
• Such programs should enable the youth to realize their full potential and become productive members of their community and society.