Youth In ‘High Spirits’

Alcohol consumption aka addiction seems to have spewed its seeds among the Indian youth. This trend observed particularly in urban areas is witnessing an increase each year with those in their late teens or early twenties engaging in alcohol consumption at an ‘earlier than usual’ age. Indian youth are increasingly ‘experimenting’ and engaging with alcohol in unhealthy ways, mostly driven by a need for social acceptance and a growing culture of binge drinking.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) an individual consumes about 6.2 litres of alcohol per year. The average alcohol consumption in India alone was 5.7 litres per person above the age of 15. Yet a survey conducted by the Community Against Drunken Driving (CADD) on underage drinking found in 2021-2022 that there had been an increase in underage consumption of alcohol with 89.4% of the respondents having had alcohol before the age of 21 years.

“The per person alcohol consumption in India is expected to increase due to a rise in the overall alcohol-consum-ing experience such as tasting events, bars and fancy exclusive clubs that attract the youth” says Vinita Contrac-tor, Holistic Nutrition & Lifestyle Coach.

She further opines that Indian youth today look at alcohol as a ‘stress and coping mechanism’. Dr Rishi Lohiya, a senior Consultant-Interventional Cardiology says, “The age group of 18-35 years will continue to drive the majority of the alcohol sales with a growing preference for beer, cocktails and flavoured spirits.”

The fear is that this trend would only worsen with drinking soon (if not already) transition from being occasional to a regular thing in social and work settings.