Drinking among youth is on the rise. That’s a dangerous trend since experts now state that any amount of alcohol at any age is harmful.
“Alcohol is a depressant. It slows down the brain, affects our responses and often causes fatal road accidents. It is a drug that is sold openly, legally and one you are made to feel guilty about not imbibing.”
Alcohol has been a significant part of human culture and consumption throughout history. To this day, people commonly use brandy as a remedy for congestion and colds or drink beer to get rid of kidney stones. The highly regarded Mediterranean diet includes wine, and scientific studies from the early 2000s claimed potential heart benefits from moderate daily consumption of alcohol.
It’s not as if alcohol’s link to poor health is unknown — it is being linked to hypertension, heart disease and cancer, among many others. Alcohol is the third biggest (5%), behind obesity (7.6% of cases) and cigarette smoking (19.3%). While the World Health Organization has mined no words in stating that no amount of alcohol is safe.
What about the so-called heart-healthy effects from a couple of glasses of wine a day? Even that is being challenged.
So, where does that leave the daily 30 ml whisky peg for Indians? While even a small amount was harmful (even drinking drunk once in your lifetime can end terribly), the effects are “dose dependent”.
In other words, those who have higher amounts of alcohol at one go or higher frequency of drinks are at higher risk of contracting various diseases than those who drink less. “Having no drinks is safer in comparison.”
Given the Indian constitution, no more than two small drinks a week are recommended. “However, the main problem among Indian youngsters is binging.” There is only so much alcohol that the body can process in a given time. Binge drinking is thus, worse than consistently drinking.
No amount of alcohol is safe because it is a “chemical that disrupts the brain and adversely affects our functioning.” It has also bankrupted families.
Recommends abstinence for youth, said drinks are much worse for youngsters under 25 (the age till when the brain continues to develop).
“Alcohol has long-term health effects, but it is also dangerous in the short run as it can impair judgment, decision-making, and reflexes, and causes falls and accidents, intersocial conflicts, increase BP etc.”
Indians are also using alcohol in the 10-17 age group. “Ever since foreign liquor brands entered Indian markets, there has been aggressive promotion of drinking. The message is there can be no fun or activity without alcohol.”
“Alcohol is a psychoactive and harmful substance that can cause significant damage to the human body. Its consumption is a major avoidable risk factor for noncommunicable disease, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, digestive diseases, and intentional and unintentional injuries, and for several infectious diseases.” There is no “reliable correlation” between moderate alcohol consumption and a lower risk of heart disease.
Alcohol is a big problem in India where a 2018 WHO report said it led to 2.6 lakh deaths annually by causing liver cirrhosis, cancer, or road accidents. Almost 15% of the population (16 crore Indians) in the 10-70 age group used alcohol. Of these, 5.7 crore — close to the population of European countries such as Italy or France — were ‘problem users’ and 2.9 crore ‘dependent users’. Around 5-6% of Indians have alcohol use disorder. This is a significant number.
There also is unabashed wooing of women. “The message to women is that alcohol use is glamorous and synoymous with empowerment.” Multiple studies have shown that alcohol doesn’t metabolize as quickly for women as it does for men, resulting in quicker inebriation.
