Revision as of 22:21, 19 January 2017

Deaths by poisonous liquor consumption, state-wise: 2004-2014; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, Jun 23 2015

Some facts, prohibition of alcohol in India; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, August 12, 2015

An annual calendar of ‘dry’ days when liquor cannot be sold in Maharashtra; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, September 15, 2015

The law

Alcohol consumption not a right: HC

Consumption of alcohol not a right: Kerala HC, The Times of India Jan 2017

Upholding the liquor policy of the previous government, the Kerala HC ruled that consumption of alcohol is not a fundamental right. “ To drink or not to drink. That is the Hamletian dilemma of Anoop.He has chosen to drink,“ it said while referring to the petitioner.

Incidence of alcohol consumption

21.4% of Indians consume alcohol: UNODC

The Times of India, Aug 27 2015

Dipak Dash

United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) report

DRUG MENACE - RTI: 21.4% of Indians consume alcohol  3% of population hooked to cannabis

Punjab, Maharashtra, Manipur, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are among the top 10 states where consumption of alcohol and narcotic drugs is higher than the rest of the country, according to a RTI response from home ministry.

Quoting a survey conducted by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC), the National Institute of Social Defence, a wing of MHA, has submitted that 21.4% Indians consume alcohol while 3% hooked to cannabis. The RTI was filed by a Delhi resident Ved Pal following recent cases of lives lost due to consumption of illicit alco hol in the country.

The RTI reply also mentions the list of 19 states and Union Territories that are in “major grasp“ of alcohol and drugs.Seven of these states are from north India including Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and UP . Except Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura, all other states from the northeast are in the list.

“Governments take the credit that they have earned crores of rupees through taxes and excise duty from the sale of alcohol.But governments should not be into this money making business. The entire amount that they have earned so far should be spent on creating awareness against consumption of alcohol and the rehabilitation of the addicts,“ Ved Pal said.

The UNODC study on “National Survey on Extent, Pattern and Trends of Drug Abuse in India“ that was released in 2004 had found that alcohol, cannabis and opiates are the major substances of abuse in India and the prevalence of drug abuse among males is significant. It had also found how women face the worst and are under huge burden if any member in their families is addicted to alcohol or drugs.

It had recommended the need to have schemes to attract drug users for treatment and developing programmes for vulnerable groups such as youth, street children and prisoners.

2016: Indians drinking more, but not to get drunk

The Times of India, September 11, 2016

John Sarkar

Indians are now drinking more, but not to get drunk  A change in tastes and a yearning for aspirational lifestyles have led to the increase in sales of wine and beer.Youngsters have fuelled a boom in tequila, sales of which shot up by 10% in 2014-15.

“Gone are the days when youngsters would stay over at a friend's place and down a bottle of whisky or rum, in the fear that they would get scolded at home. These days, it's more about social drinking over good conversation with soft alcohol such as wine and craft beer,“ said Kapil Sekhri, director of Indian wine company Fratelli Wines.“In every sphere of life, the erstwhile feeling that `alcohol is taboo' is fading away.“

Among wines, sales of still light wine showed 17% growth in 2014-15, the highest among all wine segments, driven mainly by value lines of local brands. Growth of champagne, however, remained muted with demand for rose increasing. Flavours are keeping the vodka category alive too. While sales of plain vodka are showing a decline, flavoured ones are flying off the shelves mainly due to demand from young consumers. It's the same story with rum, with the flavoured variety finding favour with consumers and growing by 45% in 2014-15.

Aspirations are driving consumers to upgrade too. The trend is stark in whisky with the Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) category showing higher value growth than volume growth, as consumers have traded up to higher price points.

“The changing consumer dynamic with the growth in disposable income is spurring the demand for premium lifestyle brands,“ said Raja Banerji, AVP-marketing, Pernod Ricard India. “With evolving tastes of the discerning consumer, India has become the third fastestgrowing market for all blended scotch in the past five years.“

Beer, the world's most widely consumed alcoholic beverage, is on a high in India as well. Although growth was affected in 2014-15 due to slack in the IT sector in Karnataka and drought in Maharashtra, the country's largest beer state, the category is still growing thanks to consumers not hesitating to experiment.

“The Indian consumer has come a long way and is willing to experiment, willing to choose `taste over testosterone',“ said Ankur Jain, CEO and founder of B9 Beverages that sells Bira 91, a local craft beer.

“Beer is a highly regulated industry , therefore it's not easy to introduce a new brand every now and then. But there is a huge untapped market with potential, which has pushed for emergence of various brands with unique identities.“

Poisonous liquor consumption

State-wise position in 2014

The Times of India, Jun 23 2015

The recent hooch tragedy in Mumbai has claimed about 100 lives, perhaps the largest toll caused by consumption of spurious poisonous liquor for the city, crossing the toll of the 2004 Vikhroli incident which killed about 50 people. Data on deaths caused by spurious poisonous liquor shows that hooch has killed 9,986 people in India in the past decade. Tamil Nadu witnessed 1,561 deaths in this period, the highest in the country.It was followed by Punjab, Karnataka and West Bengal. Gujarat, which is a dry state, also witnessed about 900 deaths

See graphic for details

Drug and alcohol deaddiction

2013-16: aid for rehabilitation centres

Funds released for assistance for prevention of alcoholism and substance abuse, 2013-16; The Times of India, December 5, 2016

See also

Alcohol: India

Alcohol and the Indian physique

Prohibition: India

Prohibition: Mizoram