Is India getting drunk? While rest of the world is cutting its alcohol consumption, India's shows some contradicting results. As per a London-based market analytics firm Euromonitor International, the country is projected to consume an additional 357 million litres between 2024 and 2029. This is the biggest increase anywhere in the world. the report titled World Market for Alcoholic Drinks 2025 notes that the there is a stagnating overall in alcohol consumption, and the only high points are countries like India, Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa. Why Are Indians Drinking So Much?The reason is Zebra Stripping. What exactly is that? Zebra Stripping is the act of switching between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks in the same social setting. The Print reported that people in India are moderating their alcohol consumption, rather than completely dismissing it. People, however, are avoiding binge drinking, and switching to zebra stripping. Health is the main driving factor of this change. There is a generational divide among the Gen Z adults of legal drinking age. As 36% of them have never consumed alcohol. This is the case globally too. For instance, in the US, the National Institute of Drug Abuse shows that lifetime drinking, past month drinking, and past year drinking among young people have declined from year 2000. This means that the decline is most severely seen among the Gen Z, those who are born between 1997 to 2012. Despite this drop in Gen Z drinkers, the report, aforementioned, shows the number of alcohol consumers will only increase. How Can Alcohol Affect Your Body?The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism notes that alcohol could lead to organ damage and immune dysregulation. Alcohol could cause cardiac arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy, ischemic heart disease, hypertension, ischemic stroke or hemorrhagic stroke, acute respiratory disease, distress syndrome, pneumonia, oesophageal cancer, and oral cavity cancer. Other impact that alcohol could cause on one's body are:Steatosis or fatty liverSteatohepatitisFibrosisCirrhosisAlcohol-associated hepatitisLiver CancerMyopathyMuscle wastageAcute pancreatitis Chronic pancreatitisGut leakinessMicrobial dysbiosis Colorectal cancerImpaired fracture repairReduce bone densityIt can also increase the risk of liver, colon, breast, oral cavity and rectum cancer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA, notes that around 178,000 deaths have happened in the US, annually, just by excessive alcohol use. CDC notes that while drinking levels at any point is not safe, moderate alcohol use is only up to two drinks or less in a day for men, and one drink or less in a day for women. Apart from the diseases and chronic conditions, CDC notes that alcohol use could also lead to injuries through motor vehicle crashes, falls, drownings, and burns. It could also lead to violence, overdose, alcohol poisoning, sexual transmitted infections, miscarriage, stillbirth, or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
Email
Google
Facebook Email Google Facebook