Alcohol-related deaths on the rise!
Wednesday, Sep 11, 2013, 22:09 IST |
Place: New Delhi | Agency: Zee Research Group
At a time when alcohol-related deaths
are on the rise, the suggestion of Swami Agnivesh to ban alcohol sale in India
could prove to be the perfect elixir for the problem. Alarmingly, the number of
alcohol-related deaths has witnessed a sharp rise of nearly 21% in 2012 over
the corresponding period last year.
Although consuming alcohol might have
become a part of the culture yet the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data
revealed some mind-blowing facts. In the last five years, barring 2011, there
has been a continual rise in the total number of alcohol-related deaths. During
the period ranging from 2008 to 2012, this figure saw a steep rise of 27% from
the level of 4308 to 5478. A massive increase of 21% was alone witnessed in
2012 when death figure zoomed to 5478 as against 4547 cases registered in 2011.
Likewise, WHO Global status report
(released in 2011) on alcohol and health stated, “The harmful use of alcohol
results in approximately 2.5 million deaths each year. Almost 4 per cent of all
deaths worldwide are attributed to alcohol.”
Reasoning out the factors involved with
the rise in alcohol-related deaths, Sameer Malhotra, head of the psychiatry
department at Max hospital opined, “Yes, alcohol-related deaths are on the
rise. We are seeing the clinical population. There are multiple of factors
which are responsible for the rise in alcohol related deaths. Factors included:
level of alcohol consumption has gone up, age of consuming alcohol has only
receded over the years, social acceptance has increased, laws have become a bit
slack, unawareness about the complications associated with alcohol.”...
A state-wise analysis of 2012 data
revealed that maximum number of alcohol-related deaths occurred in Maharashtra
(1514), followed by Madhya Pradesh (564), Karnataka (415), Haryana (367),
Punjab (273). However in 2011, the list remained more and less the same.
Maharashtra topped the list with the highest number of death cases at 1185
followed by Madhya Pradesh (486), Haryana (309), Karnataka (304), and
Chhattisgarh (270).
Similarly, city-wise analysis of 2012
data showed that Mumbai topped the list with 166 alcohol-related deaths. Delhi
came second with 142 death cases followed by Nagpur (140), Bengaluru (121), and
Jaipur (61). However in 2011, it was Chennai which registered the maximum
deaths of 281, followed by Delhi (140), Mumbai (112), Nagpur (95), and
Bengaluru (79).
Citing the main causes of
alcohol-related deaths, Malhotra asserted, “Alcohol-related causes of death
include road traffic accidents, liver related complications and brain related
problems. Alcohol consumption dulls your responses. While you are driving,
chances of road accidents are pretty high. In the long run, alcohol leads to
brain related complications. It also develops forgetfulness.”
Moreover, it is expected that alcohol
consumption will increase in India. According to the report released in 2011 by
industry body, Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India
(Assocham), alcohol consumption in India will cross 19,000 million litres by
2015 from the level of 6,700 million litres witnessed in 2011.
Agreeing with the above findings, Samir
Shah, founder member and the general secretary of the National Liver
Foundation, averred, “Whenever the usage of alcohol will increase, deaths would
increase in the same proportion. Most of the people start by some kind of an
experimental use.”
It is the need of the hour that we need
to provide better education to the children. Sudarshan stressed, “We should
make them aware about the physical and psychological consequences of alcohol
consumption. Furthermore, media shouldn’t glorify the use of alcohol.”