Men in Bihar consume more alcohol than in Maharashtra: Govt survey

The latest report released by the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) 2019-20 revealed that Bihar, the state with a prohibition order in place, sees a higher proportion of people consuming alcohol than Maharashtra

According to the survey, Maharashtra rank third in the country in terms of alcohol consumption. However, men in Karnataka drink the most alcohol. Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir have the lowest number of men consuming alcohol.

In Maharashtra, where prohibition is not in place, 13.9 per cent men consume alcohol. Both rural and urban areas of Maharashtra have lower liquor consumption ratio compared to Bihar. In urban Maharashtra, 13 per cent population consume liquor, the percentage goes up to 14.7 in rural areas.

Moreover, in both states – Maharashtra and Bihar, rural areas have a higher percentage of people drinking liquor. Among women, both Bihar and Maharashtra had the same 0.4 per cent of the population consuming alcohol.

Meanwhile, in Bihar, 15.5 per cent of all men, aged 15 and above, consumed alcohol. Liquor consumption was higher in rural areas than in urban Bihar. Percentage of people consuming alcohol on rural Bihar stood at 15.8 per cent in the NFHS-5, the same in urban regions stood at 14 per cent.

The reports suggested that rural India drinks more alcohol than the urban regions.

Telangana is ahead of Goa in terms of alcohol consumption. The northeastern states are at the top of tobacco consumption. In the northeastern state of Sikkim, women are the leading drinkers with 16.2 per cent. In Assam, 7.3 per cent of women are alcohol consumers and the state ranks second.

Besides that, the report stated the consumption of tobacco is higher than alcohol in the country. Mizoram reported the highest percentage of tobacco with 77.8 per cent of men and 65 per cent of women consuming it. The state is at the forefront of tobacco use.

The southern state of Kerala has the lowest tobacco consumption where only 17 per cent of people use tobacco, while Goa at 18 per cent.

The results of the NFHS-5 are based on a survey of 6.1 lakh sample households, involving household-level interviews, to collect information on population, health, family planning and nutrition-related indicators.