A recent study conducted by the AIIMS has revealed that close to 5.7 crore Indians are addicted to Alcohol and 8.5 lakh Indians Inject drugs. A report by the NCCTC revealed that 5.7 crore people are estimated to be dependent on Alcohol. In other words, Every third alcohol user in India needs help for alcohol-related problems. The study further reveals that 15 crore people in India between the age group of 16-75 consume Alcohol. The report titled “Magnitude of Substance Use in India” showed that usage of other Psychoactive substances such as cannabis (bhang and ganja), opioids (opium and heroin) and cocaine have also increased.
States with most dependencies on alcohol are Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Punjab, Arunachal Pradesh, and Goa. A large portion of people are affected by the addiction in India and they are not receiving any treatment. The report also revealed that there are about 8.5 Lakh People Who Inject Drugs. States leading in PWID are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, and Nagaland. The massive survey was conducted by NDDTC, 10 Medical Colleges, and 15 NGOs.
The groundwork kicked off in 2017 and ended in 0ctober 2018. The last National Survey on the extent, pattern, and trend of drug abuse was in the year 2000-2001. The report was published in 2004. However, the Survey did not give any State-level estimates. Both the surveys were sponsored and commissioned by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
