Varun and his wife has just returned home. They had gone to see a cardiac surgeon. Varun was experiencing a fluctuating blood pressure, headache, vomiting and a kind of depression for the past few days.

The doctor’s diagnosis was a bolt from the blue for his family. The doctor has sternly suggested him either to stop drinking or be prepared with INR 50 lakhs for undergoing a liver transplant surgery very soon.

Today a sense of gloom prevail in each and every corner of their home.

Varun who migrated to Delhi from Assam for a better job opportunity around a decade back was working in a multinational company. His family was happy that he could find himself a good job. But continuous graveyard shifts left Varun with hardly any time to interact with his family members. They had absolutely no knowledge of his drinking habits. His health conditions deteriorated to the extent that he had to ultimately quit his job.

Varun’s family is just an example. There are hundreds and thousands of families in India that meet with similar fate.

According to a study by World Health Organisation on alcohol and health 2.5 million people die every year.

Today, Varun’s elder brother Tarun has taken up the responsibility of solely taking care of the family of six including Varun’s five year old son.

Varun is not alone. People across the globe are victims of alcohol addiction.

According to the global status report by WHO, globally, 6.2 per cent of all male deaths are related to alcohol compared with 1.1 per cent of female deaths.

India accounts for 22.5 percent of the total alcohol consumption.

Alcohol related deaths are increasing at a rapid pace. The main reason being, injuries in a drunken state, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and liver cirrhosis.

Again, the onset of depression is a common symptom among alcohol addicts.

In India an estimated 80 percent of alcohol consumption is in the form of hard liquor or distilled spirits. That is, addicts in our country are more into drinks that are concentrated with alcohol.

India is the largest consumer of whiskey across the globe. According to the study, the estimated whiskey market in India by the end of 2013 is expected to be us $10 billion or INR 541.389 billion. Thanks to the growing economy of the country.

India is a union of 28 states and seven union territories. The drinking age and norms vary from state.

Drinking alcohol above the limit is a menace in most of the household and for the health authorities. News of hooch tragedy, wherein death due to country made spurious liquor is common in India.

A few Indian states like Gujarat, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland has put a total ban on liquor.

Taxes generated from alcohol production and sale which is estimated to be at INR 25,000 crore is the major source of revenue in most states. And that is the reason that the states have been given a permit for alcohol sale.

Though a large amount of revenue is generated from the sale of alcohol, the hidden cost of healthcare etc is seen to exceed the revenue generated.

The crux is that as long as we take the path of something called responsible drinking, we will keep spending a major amount of our income in treatment, thereby creating unrest in the family as well as the larger well being as a whole.

Courtesy : Statistical Data’s …. thanks to World Health Organisation