The World Health Organization identifies alcohol as one of the major reasons for the rise of lifestyle diseases in India. Despite this fact, Indians’ love for it continues to grow and a latest study by The Lancet proves this.
According to this study, annual alcohol intake in India increased by 38% between 2010 and 2017.
In India, the annual per capita alcohol consumption rose from 4.3 litres in 2010 to 5.9 litres in 2017.
Talking to Hindustan Times, Dr. Srinath K Reddy, President of Public Health Foundation of India, said:
“Rising levels of per capita alcohol consumption do not bode well for India, as it raises the risk of many non-communicable diseases like cancers, road traffic accidents, domestic violence, mental health disorders and social conflict.”
The study which took into consideration the alcohol intake of 189 countries revealed that the world is quite far from achieving WHO’s targets against harmful alcohol use.
There has been a significant change in the alcohol consumption pattern globally. The report stated:
“Before 1990, most alcohols was consumed in high-income countries. However, this pattern has changed substantially, with large reductions across Eastern Europe and vast increases in several middle-income countries such as China, India, and Vietnam.”
The reports suggests that this trend is expected to continue with annual per capita alcohol consumption reaching to 7.6 litres in 2030.