Hyderabad: Women in rural Telangana consume more alcohol compared to their urban counterparts, the National Family Health Survey(NFHS)-6 released on Friday, May 29, has revealed.
The data also puts Telangana on top of the list of the highest alcohol consumption among large states. The NFHS-6 report also reveals that one in two men in rural Telangana consumes alcohol. According to the survey, 43 per cent of men and 6.8 per cent of women aged 15 and above consume alcohol.
The national average of alcohol consumption for men is 18.9 and 1.1 per cent for women, and Telangana is way ahead.
The rural-urban divide in alcohol consumption
According to the survey, 43 per cent of rural men consume alcohol, compared to 34 per cent of men in urban areas. In rural areas, 8.3 per cent women consume alcohol, against 3.4 per cent in urban areas.
The study was conducted by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, and covered nearly 6.79 lakh households across 715 districts. It serves as one of India’s most comprehensive assessments of health, demographic and social indicators.
Telangana ahead of larger states
With 43 per cent consuming alcohol, the survey revealed that Telangana topped the list of alcohol consumption among men in larger states of the country. This was followed by Andhra Pradesh, where 31.6 per cent of males consume alcohol, and Karnataka, where the percentage was 15.6, and Tamil Nadu at 13.7 per cent.
Maharashtra recorded 12.2 per cent, while Uttar Pradesh stood at 13.9 per cent.
Arunachal records highest alcohol consumption in India
While Telangana ranks first among larger states, Arunachal Pradesh recorded the highest alcohol consumption in the country overall.
According to NFHS-6, 50.5 per cent of men and 23.2 per cent of women in Arunachal Pradesh consume alcohol. The northeastern state remains the only region in India where more than half of adult men and nearly one-fourth of women report alcohol use.
Other high-consumption regions include the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where 41.4 per cent of men consume alcohol, and Sikkim, where the figure stands at 39.8 per cent.
Sikkim also reported one of the highest rates of female alcohol consumption at 15.6 per cent.
