The alcohol consumption in 2020 touched over 6.2 billion liters in India. The increase is majorly due to alcohol consumption amongst the young crowd, the growing urban population, and the normalization of social drinking to name a few. Such big numbers and the direction in which alcohol consumption is going unregulated and unmonitored is of grave concern. Alcohol consumers need to be educated about the effect of alcohol on the mental, social, and physical aspects of their lives.
The wide availability of alcohol is increasing alcohol-related disorders amongst the population. According to the DSM-5, alcohol-related disorders include alcohol use disorder, alcohol intoxication, and alcohol withdrawal. The World Health Organisation reported the prevalence of alcohol-related disorders in the Indian male population to be 9.1%, which is less for women at 0.5% (WHO, 2016). The same report stated that the death of 60% of men dying from liver damage can be attributed to alcohol consumption. Alcohol dependency can result in continuous or recurrent social or interpersonal problems (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Researchers in a study found 50% of their sample alcohol consumers to have strained relationships with their family members or neighbors or both (Ramanan & Singh, 2016).
Harmful drinking patterns of frequent and heavy drinking, bingeing or solitary consumption are seen to be widely practiced in young social circles and can be seen as a precursor to alcohol dependency. Alcohol dependency can induce a persistent desire or craving to consume alcohol. What’s surprising is that in these pro-alcohol social groups, an increased tolerance to achieve intoxication or a diminished effect of the same amount of alcohol on the person is celebrated and is something to be proud of, unaware that these are important criteria for the diagnosis of alcohol-related disorders.
Most alcohol consumers are unaware of the effect this widely used drug has on their body, mind, and social life. Especially in the urban circles, where there is an immediate need to spread awareness and regulate the use and purchase of alcohol.
Reference
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
Ramanan, V. V., & Singh, S. K. (2016). A study on alcohol use and its related health and social problems in rural Puducherry, India. Journal of family medicine and primary care, 5(4), 804–808. https://doi.org/10.4103/2249-4863.201175
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Yashi Singh is a team member at MindTribe.in.
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