The recent data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (NFHS) shows that 22.4% of the male of every fifth man in India is fond of alcohol. But the good thing is that there has been a decrease in the percentage of men who drink alcohol in India. This figure was 29.2 percent in 2015-16, which has now come down. However, some states are overtaking the national average.
Goa is at the forefront with 59.1 percent of alcohol -drinking men, followed by Arunachal Pradesh (56.6 percent), Telangana (50 percent), Jharkhand (40.4 percent), Odisha (38.4 percent), Sikkim (36.3 percent), Chhattisgarh (35.9 Tamil Nadu (32.8 percent), Uttarakhand (32.1 percent), Andhra Pradesh (31.2 percent), Punjab (27.5 percent), Assam (26.5 percent), Kerala (26 percent) and West Bengal (25.7 percent) ranks.
Liquor ban was implemented in Bihar in 2016, but the data shows that the consumption of liquor there has not been abolished there. In 2015-16, men who drink alcohol in Bihar were 28.9 percent and still 17 percent of men drink alcohol. These information has come from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in response to the question raised by Dr. V. Shivdasan in the Rajya Sabha.
Citing data from 2015-16 (NFHS-4) and 2019-21 (NFHS-5) on alcohol, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel said, ‘According to the data of 2015-16, 15 in India, 15 in India. The percentage of consuming alcohol of women and men of 49 years was 1.2 percent and 29.2 percent respectively. In 2019-21, this percentage declined 0.7 percent for women and 22.4 percent for men.
Comparing NFHS-4 and NFHS-5 figures, a contradictory situation is seen. Even though the number of drinkers at the national level has decreased, but the percentage of drinkers in some areas has increased.
At the national level, the figures tell a serious story. Between 2015-16 and 2019-21, the percentage of men in 15-49 age groups has come down from 29.2 percent to 22.4 percent. The number of women drinking alcohol in India declined from 1.2 percent to 0.7 percent.
Number of women drinking alcohol increased in Delhi
From recent data, it seems that India is gradually getting away from alcohol with emphasis on its culture. But if you go under the depth of the figures, then it is known that the figure of women and men who drink alcohol is increasing in many states of India.
Talking about Delhi, the percentage of women drinking here has been more than doubled. In 2015-16, 0.6 percent of women in Delhi used to drink alcohol, which has increased to 1.4 percent in 2019-21. Men are also drinking more alcohol in Delhi, their number has increased from 24.7 percent to 27.9 percent.
Delhi is a city that is probably lightening itself with the burden of old conservatism, after wandering throughout the day in the labyrinth of modern life, one finds relaxed in whiskey.
This state has the highest percentage of women drinking alcohol
Arunachal Pradesh, situated at the northeastern end of the country, is the land of bumpy mountains and yesterday and the relationship with women here is completely different from the rest of India. However, the number of women drinking alcohol has declined. In 2015-16, where 26.3 percent of women drank alcohol, this figure decreased to 17.8 percent in 2019-21.
On the contrary, 0.1 percent of women and only 0.8 percent of men in Lakshadweep drink alcohol. And then comes Goa- Evergreen heaven of India, where the sun sinks with cocktail in hand and the tide of fun is never reduced.
In Goa, men’s consumption has increased from 44.7 percent to 59.1 percent. Even the figure of women who drink alcohol has increased from 4.2 percent to 4.8 percent.
Government’s efforts against drug addiction
However, the government is not just a silent spectator in this ups and down. The Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has launched the National Action Plan (NAPDDR) to reduce the demand for drugs to curb the intake of drug addicts. The serious mission of this scheme is- education, rehabilitation and awareness campaign.
The drug -free India campaign is a call of India -free India, which is moving forward with helpline and rehabilitation center. The ambition of this campaign is as great as it is. But the way to quit alcohol is full of cultural contradictions. A country that respects ascetics, he also drinks a lot of alcohol in his festivals. This is a country where liquor ban law is dominated in some states, while in other states, a glass of liquor is raised with carelessness.