According to a survey conducted by All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) that covered all states and Union Territories has shed light on the serious drug and alcohol abuse in the country, reported The Times Of India. The data from the “Magnitude of Substance Abuse in India” conducted by National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) under the AIIMS, Delhi revealed that nearly 5.7 crore persons are (10-75 year old) are considered to be alcohol addicts are said to be in need of urgent medical intervention. However, the worrying matter is that only 3% of the people with the drinking problem receive treatment.

Alcohol addiction

The survey said that there are 16 crore people in the nation who have reported to be consuming alcohol. Also, India has about six crore alcohol addicts, which is more than the population of 172 nations in the world. It said that the consumption of alcohol among men was at a considerable high rate when compared to women. To provide a vivid picture, 27.3% of men consumed alcohol in the country in comparison to 1.6% of women. The survey showed Chhattisgarh, Punjab, and Tripura showed a higher prevalence of alcohol consumers.

Alcohol consumption is not the only problem in the country, as it has been found out through the survey that a substantial number of people in the country are addicted to various drugs as well. Nearly 3.1 crore Indians have reported consuming cannabis products in last one year. However, of these 72 lakh people depend on cannabis product and require treatment, but unfortunately, only one in 20 drug addicts receive treatment at a hospital, reported the Financial Express.

Apart from alcohol other drugs consumed by Indians

According to the survey, around 3.1 crore Indians (2.8%) are reported to have used cannabis product in last one year. Apart from cannabis, 2.2 crore people consumed Bhang, and Ganja or Charas were consumed by 1.3 crore people. Although from the figure it is clear that the number of Ganja or Charas are less than comparison to Bhang, but in case of dependency the number of addicts of Ganja or Charas is higher than the national average in Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Punjab, and Sikkim.

Heroin is the most commonly used substance followed by pharmaceutical opioids. Nearly 60 lakh Indians use Heroin and Opioids. Sedatives and inhalants are tried by less than 1% of the total population in the country. The survey also noted that around 8.5 lakh people in the country injected drugs.

Access to treatment

In the domain of access to treatment for drug or alcohol addicts, the country has hit a bump. Only one person in 38 alcohol addicts have reported receiving any treatment and one out of 180 addicts have received inpatient treatment at a hospital. For drug addicts, only one in 20 has received hospitalization or inpatient treatment for drug addiction.

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