The ill-effects of alcohol are well-known. Overconsumption of alcohol can take a serious toll on your health. As the awareness on the impact of alcohol increase, the drinking patterns have changed in India significantly.
A 2021 study published in the Indian Journal Psychological Medicine revealed that there was a significant decrease in the proportion of men reporting alcohol use. The study based on a secondary analysis of the data gathered over the successive National Family Health Surveys (NFHS-3 to 5) found that decreasing trend of alcohol use in India has various implications.
“First, the fact that a relatively lower proportion of the Indian population is currently using alcohol compared to the previous survey years can serve as an important piece of information while delivering interventions targeted at primary prevention of alcohol use disorders (AUD). Studies have found that perceptions of drinking norms correlate positively with individual drinking behavior. It is commonly observed that perceived drinking norms typically exceed personal levels of alcohol use,” the study stated.
According to the researchers, adolescents usually overestimate their peers’ alcohol use, and these misperceptions affect adolescents’ own alcohol-related behaviors.
“Overestimation of friends’ alcohol use significantly increases the likelihood of all alcohol consumption behaviors and all alcohol-related problems. The finding of a decrease in the proportion of the Indian population with alcohol use can help develop social-norm campaigns as part of a prevention intervention,” the study revealed.
“While the NFHS data suggested a decreasing trend in the proportion of people (especially men) who reported alcohol use in India, the Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health 2018 by WHO estimated a 38% increase in per-capita alcohol consumption among individuals aged ≥15 years in India during the period 2010–2017,” it added.
This suggests that while the proportion of persons reporting alcohol use in India has decreased over the past two decades, the amount of alcohol consumed by those who drink has actually increased over the year, the authors found.
“In fact, the total alcohol per capita consumption among drinkers in India is high at 18.3 liters and 6.6 liters of pure alcohol, respectively, for men and women (aged ≥15 years),” the study revealed.
The study also highlighted that there is an increase in the in the proportion of women reporting alcohol use across nine states., it added.