According to recent reports, India has recorded the highest growth rate in total beverage alcohol (TBA) consumption among 20 global markets for the third consecutive first half-year period. The global alcohol-focused industry research firm IWSR reported that TBA volume in India grew 7% year-on-year during January–June 2025 to over 440 million nine-litre cases. Sarah Campbell of IWSR observed, “India is increasingly one of the most important global markets for the beverage alcohol industry.”
This news, published in The Times of India (November 6, 2025) under the headline Say Cheers!, should, in fact, set alarm bells ringing across the public health sector. Instead of celebration, it should be viewed with deep concern for its implications on health, society, and governance. Unfortunately, the prevailing global trend—encouraged by powerful industry lobbies—has been to discourage governments from taking strong protective measures.
A recent example is the criticism faced by the Irish government after it enacted a law mandating all alcoholic products to prominently display warnings linking alcohol consumption to liver disease and cancer. While this law was applauded by many health experts, it was opposed by industry lobbyists who have long propagated myths about the supposed health benefits of “moderate drinking” or red wine—claims now thoroughly discredited by scientific evidence.
Keeping in view the aggressive lobbying by the alcohol industry, it is crucial to revisit what extensive scientific research and public health data reveal about alcohol’s devastating impact.
Highly Adverse Health Impacts
There is overwhelming scientific evidence of alcohol’s severe health risks. According to the WHO Status Report on Alcohol and Health (2016), harmful alcohol use led to 3 million deaths worldwide—5.3% of all global deaths—and accounted for 132.6 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Mortality from alcohol consumption exceeds that caused by tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and diabetes. Among men, an estimated 2.3 million deaths were linked to alcohol use, while among women, the figure was 0.7 million.
Of all alcohol-attributable deaths, 28.7% were due to injuries, 21.3% to digestive diseases, 19% to cardiovascular diseases, 12.9% to infectious diseases, and 12.6% to cancers. The WHO further reports that alcohol contributes to more than 200 diseases and conditions, including liver cirrhosis, cancer, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS.
Among those aged 20–29 years, 13.5% of all deaths are linked to alcohol. The synergy between alcohol use and viral hepatitis worsens liver disease progression, and even moderate drinking increases the risk of breast cancer in women.
The same report highlights that alcohol intoxication heightens impulsivity, cognitive dysfunction, and suicidal ideation. People are seven times more likely to attempt suicide shortly after drinking, and this risk rises to 37 times after heavy drinking. Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs) at least double the risk of depression.
Alcohol poisoning—often from consuming large quantities within a short period—is another major killer. Excessive drinking can disrupt breathing, heart rate, and body temperature, leading to coma or death. Despite being one of the most lethal psychoactive substances, the everyday fatalities caused by beverage alcohol remain under-reported in health statistics.
The alcohol industry, much like the tobacco lobby before it, has consistently distorted facts. A recent study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Sweden’s Karolinska Institute concluded that the alcohol industry “uses denial, distortion, and distraction to mislead people about the risks of developing cancer from drinking.”
The Lancet (August 2018) published an exhaustive study across 195 countries, establishing that no level of alcohol consumption is safe. “There is no safe level of alcohol,” stated lead author Max Griswold. Even one drink a day can cause 100,000 additional deaths annually. In the 15–49 age group, alcohol accounts for over 12% of deaths—tragically, those that often devastate families the most.
Accidents, Depression, and Violence
Alcohol plays a significant role in fatal and non-fatal accidents. The Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol and Addictive Behavior attributes 44% of fatal road accidents and nearly 30% of non-fatal accidents to alcohol use. Similarly, 46% of fatal fire and burn incidents are linked to drinking.
The World Report on Violence and Health (WRVH) notes that alcohol abuse is an important factor in depression and suicide. In the U.S., one in four suicides involves alcohol abuse. The American Psychological Association further warns that alcoholism can both worsen existing mental health conditions and induce new ones such as anxiety and memory loss.
Alcohol also contributes significantly to domestic and sexual violence. The WRVH observed that women living with heavy drinkers face five times higher risk of being assaulted by their partners. In cases of sexual assault, numerous studies have shown that roughly half of all assaults involve alcohol consumption by the perpetrator, the victim, or both.
Research by Antonia Abbey and colleagues at the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism found that 34% to 74% of sexual assaults are committed by men under the influence of alcohol. However, the researchers emphasized that alcohol use by victims never shifts responsibility from the perpetrators.
The WRVH also reported that alcohol consumption increases both vulnerability and aggression, making sexual violence more likely. A U.S. National Task Force study found that every year 1,400 college students die in alcohol-related incidents, 500,000 are injured, and 70,000 experience alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape.
Special Vulnerability of Women
Women are biologically and socially more vulnerable to alcohol-related harm. The WHO Status Report on Alcohol and Health (2018) emphasizes that, for the same level of consumption, women face more pronounced adverse health outcomes, including cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and liver damage.
Physiological factors—such as lower body weight, smaller liver capacity, and higher body fat percentage—mean that women reach higher blood alcohol levels than men after drinking the same amount. Moreover, alcohol use during pregnancy carries severe risks for infants, including fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), which cause irreversible developmental and neurological damage.
A systematic review by Popova et al. estimated that globally, 9.8% of pregnant women consume alcohol, resulting in 14.6 cases of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and 77.3 cases of FASD per 10,000 people. These figures underscore the immense and lifelong consequences of prenatal alcohol exposure.
In India, strong cultural traditions have historically discouraged women’s drinking. But recent shifts in urban media portrayals—often glamorizing alcohol use as a symbol of freedom—threaten to undo this protective barrier. The alcohol industry actively promotes these narratives, with Bollywood and advertising playing a complicit role. Encouraging women to drink in the name of “modernity” could become a major public health disaster if left unchecked.
Policy Imperatives
Across India, grassroots anti-liquor movements—often led by women—have repeatedly highlighted the social and economic devastation caused by alcohol. From village campaigns demanding removal of local liquor shops to statewide agitations, these movements express a deep public yearning for protection from addiction and violence.
Unfortunately, most governments have prioritized revenue collection over health. Many politicians maintain close ties with liquor lobbies or are themselves involved in the trade. Nevertheless, women’s mobilizations have compelled some state governments to impose partial restrictions or reconsider licensing policies.
Where sustained community-led campaigns have taken root, results have been tangible. For example, the Chhattisgarh miners’ movement under Shankar Guha Niyogi saw thousands give up drinking entirely, combining social mobilization with workplace solidarity. The key lesson is clear: effective alcohol control requires public participation, community credibility, and educational engagement, not just government decrees.
India needs a two-pronged approach—well-designed government policy combined with broad-based public campaigns. Educational institutions must integrate awareness on substance abuse into curricula, while local leaders and respected community figures should lead by example.
The government should stop viewing liquor as a revenue source and start addressing it as a major public health and social challenge. Alcohol advertisements—both direct and indirect—must be banned, and all bottles should carry strong health warnings.
At the local level, policies should empower communities: no liquor shop should be permitted in a village where at least half the residents oppose it. At the same time, illegal sales must be curbed through strong enforcement.
Ultimately, governments must partner with citizens—especially women—to reduce alcohol consumption and support de-addiction and rehabilitation. A consistent, sustained, and well-informed national campaign against the many-sided dangers of alcohol is now an urgent necessity.
---
The writer has been involved with several anti-liquor social movements. His recent books include A Day in 2071, Planet in Peril, Protecting Earth for Children, and Man Over Machine
Comments