Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) published data on alcohol and drug consumption. According to the data, 2.6 million people die from alcohol every year worldwide, which corresponds to 4.7% of all deaths. Of these 2.6 million deaths, 2 million were men.
The report, entitled “Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health and Treatment of Substance-Related Disorders”, provides a comprehensive update based on 2019 data on the impact of alcohol and drug use on public health, as well as the situation of alcohol use and treatment of substance-related disorders worldwide.
An estimated 400 million people worldwide suffer from alcohol and drug abuse. Of these, 209 million people are alcohol dependent.
This data is important for a country like India because death rates from alcohol consumption per litre of alcohol consumed are highest in low-income countries and lowest in high-income countries. India falls in the first category and alcohol consumption is a major public health problem in our resource-poor country as it can lead to several serious diseases.
According to the report of the first comprehensive national survey on the extent and pattern of substance use in India, conducted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment through the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, AIIMS, in New Delhi, released last year, alcohol is the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance among Indians, followed by cannabis and opioids.
According to WHO data, of all alcohol-related deaths in 2019, an estimated 1.6 million were due to non-communicable diseases, including 474,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease and 401,000 from cancer.
About 724,000 deaths were due to injuries, such as traffic accidents, self-harm and interpersonal violence.
A further 284,000 deaths were related to communicable diseases. For example, alcohol consumption has been shown to increase the risk of HIV transmission because it increases the risk of unprotected sex and, by suppressing a variety of immune responses, increases the risk of tuberculosis infection and associated mortality.
The highest proportion (13%) of alcohol-related deaths in 2019 occurred in the 20- to 39-year-old age group.
When the productive population succumbs to alcoholism and drug abuse, it can be a huge financial burden in the long run, experts say. The worst part is that this damage is entirely preventable.
Since 2020, India has been conducting Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan in all districts to create awareness about the negative impact of drug abuse among youth. There is a special focus on colleges, university campuses, schools and community outreach and encouraging community participation and ownership in the Abhiyaan. Creating awareness about the damage that drug abuse does to the body and the financial burden it brings is critical to addressing the crisis in the long term.
“Substance use seriously harms individual health, increases the risk of chronic diseases and mental illness, and tragically leads to millions of preventable deaths each year. It places a heavy burden on families and communities and increases the risk of accidents, injuries and violence,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“To build a healthier and more equitable society, we must urgently commit to bold actions that reduce the negative health and social consequences of alcohol use and make treatment for substance use disorders accessible and affordable.”
