16 crore Indians consume alcohol: Survey

At the national level, about 14.6 per cent (16 crore) people (in the 10-75 age group) consume alcohol with Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Punjab, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa having the highest prevalence of liquor use, a recent government survey has found.

After alcohol, cannabis and opioids are the next commonly-used substances in the country, the survey has found.

Among those dependent on alcohol, one in 38 reported some form of treatment, while one in 180 reported getting in-patient treatment or hospitalisation.

Conducted by the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry in collaboration with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the survey titled "Prevalence and Extent of Substance Use in India" was conducted in all the 36 states and Union territories.

At the national level, 2,00,111 households were visited in 186 districts and a total of 4,73,569 individuals were interviewed, the report stated.

About 2.8 per cent of Indians (around 3.1 crore) reported having used some cannabis product in the last 12 months.

At the national level, the most commonly used opioid is heroine(used by 1.14 per cent of the people surveyed), followed by pharmaceutical opioids (used by 0.96 per cent of the people surveyed) and opium (used by 0.52 per cent of the people surveyed).

About 1.08 per cent (around 1.18 crore) of Indians in the 10-75 age group use sedatives (non-medical, non-prescription use).

At the national level, an estimated 4.6 lakh children and 18 lakh adults need help for inhaler use, the survey found.