Kids as young as 10 and elders as old as 75 years are in the grip of alcohol in the country. Overall, 16 crore people across the States are consuming liquor with Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Punjab, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa having the highest prevalence of its usage, as per a Government survey.
Conducted by the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry in collaboration with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the survey titled “Prevalence and Extent of Substance Use in India” covered all 36 states and Union territories.
The study which was led by Dr Atul Ambekar, principal investigator of the survey, also professor at National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, AIIMS said, that alcohol consumption is 17 times higher among men than women.
Among those dependent on alcohol, one in 38 reported some form of treatment, while one in 180 reported getting in-patient treatment or hospitalisation.
At the national level, 2,00,111 households were visited in 186 districts and a total of 4,73,569 individuals were interviewed, the report stated.
After alcohol, cannabis, and opioids are the next commonly-used substances in the country, the survey has found.
About 2.8 per cent of Indians (around 3.1 crores) reported having used some cannabis product in the last 12 months.
At the national level, the most commonly used opioid is the heroine (used by 1.14 per cent of the people surveyed), followed by pharmaceutical opioids (used by 0.96 per cent of the people surveyed) and opium (used by 0.52 per cent of the people surveyed).
About 1.08 per cent (around 1.18 crore) of Indians in the 10-75 age group use sedatives (non-medical, non-prescription use), as per the survey.
At the national level, an estimated 4.6 lakh children and 18 lakh adults need help for inhaler use, the survey found.
The survey also pointed out that nearly 3 per cent Indians use cannabis to get high with Uttar Pradesh topping the chart in use of the narcotic substance. Bhang is the most common form of cannabis used in the country, followed by ganja and charas.
The survey found that 3.1 crore Indians between the age of 10 and 75 years or 2.8 per cent of the total population used cannabis in the last twelve months to get high.
According to the Government, about 72 lakh individuals need help for their cannabis use problems.