Is addiction a problem in Indian schools or among Indian professionals?

Checkout this article to learn more about alcoholism among Indian students and recommended remedies to help students recover from the same.

Alcohol addiction is one of the worst nightmares among most households across the World. According to research conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in the United States, alcoholism is attributed to the rise in many health-related complications among most alcohol consumers.

The report indicates that too much alcohol intake harms the body's vital organs, including the brain, liver, and heart. In severe cases, alcoholism cripples the pancreas' proper functioning, thereby thwarting the digestive system's normal operation.

Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a situation where alcohol users get to an extent they can not control the amount of alcohol they consume. It is considered one of the effects of alcohol consumption, leading to serious health effects if not managed in time.

Addicts, at this stage, experience emotional distress in case they don't take alcohol. They end up taking alcohol uncontrollably throughout their lives. Alcohol rehab centers play an essential role in helping in the recovery process. If not handled properly, alcohol addiction may take a toll on your health.

Alcoholism in India

Through a report dabbed National Survey on Extent and pattern of substance use in India, alcohol is one of the critical psychoactive substances used by Indians. In another report released by the National Drug dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC), at least 160 million Indians consume alcohol. Out of this number, the majority are grappling with alcoholism. This situation is coupled with an increasing number of patients and several other alcoholics who need medical attention to help in the recovery process.

Lack of efficient medical care for victims of alcoholism is one factor that has failed to address the wanting alcoholism situation in India. Other reports indicate that more than half of alcoholics in India fall under the category of risky alcoholic intake behaviour. The rise in the number of alcoholic outlets has been observed as the main contributory factor of alcohol addiction among most Indians.

Effect of alcoholism in the Indian context

Generally, alcoholism remains one of the most social challenges in society across the World. Though people worldwide embrace alcohol consumption to relax their minds after a tough week, extreme levels of alcohol intake remain one of the key contributors to various social, psychological, and health problems.

In some extreme circumstances, alcoholism has been attributed to the cause of death among most alcoholics. Through a report on substance abuse compiled by India's ministry of social justice and empowerment, close to 57 million Indian citizens are grappling with the effect of alcoholism. The OPD based detoxification is, therefore, believed to be more effective in tackling substance use disorder.

Alcoholism among students in India

The Indian education sector has not been spared from the ripple effect of alcoholism in learning institutions. The high prevalence of alcohol abuse in Indian schools led to the government hinting at introducing chapters in teaching textbooks that will focus on the effects of alcoholism. The decision arrived at the Indian government after a surge in the number of cases related to alcoholism among Indian students.

According to a study conducted by alcohol drugs and information centres in India, alcohol consumers' age has drastically reduced from 19 to 13 years. The advertising scene and various players in the sale of alcohol have been blamed for the rising number of alcohol consumers among teenagers. The report pointed out that international beverage sellers play a critical part in influencing young Indians into alcohol addiction.

The use of young people in alcohol advertisements has been regarded as the main pointer to alcoholism among the young generation class. The paradigm shift in the advertisement has seen younger men and women sink into alcoholism. This shift is attributed to misleading advertisements that influence the younger generation.

Though details of the decision remain scanty, the need to establish a vibrant strategy to curb the rising alcoholism cases remains one of the top priorities for the Indian government. India's commitment to eradicate alcoholism in schools seems to have yielded fruits in fighting the vice. It followed the move by the Indian government to create 1298 anti-drinking clubs across various schools.

The initiative aims at sensitizing students in various learning institutions on the dangers of alcohol consumption. Cancellation of various liquor selling outlets on the national and state highways is one of the moves sighted to be critical in discouraging access to alcohol among citizens.

Spike in the number of alcohol rehab centers

India has experienced exponential growth in the number of alcohol rehab centres established to manage alcohol addiction. This comes in the wake of an increasing number of severe alcoholism effects that pose a serious threat to several Indians' wellbeing across various states.

Though the government has invested a lot of time and resources in fighting alcohol addiction, curbing alcoholism remains one of the most challenging problems among various stakeholders. This is due to the Lack of proper structures to control the manufacture and supply of alcoholic beverages.
Alcohol rehabilitation is one of the critical options most alcoholics need to save them from dire situation. The need to help many alcohol addicts recover from alcoholism has led to a mushrooming number of private drug and alcohol rehab centres in India.

The Indian government has rolled out 272 alcohol treatment centres across India to fight drug and alcohol addiction. The move is meant to address the ever-increasing number of alcohol addicts that need medical and rehabilitation services to help them recover from alcoholism.
However, the introduction of free outpatient department services is one of the key government initiatives meant to help alcohol addicts access medication without necessarily having to stay in the rehabilitation for alcoholics. The move is believed to drastically reduce the burden of handling the ever-rising number of drug and alcohol addicts that need medical attention.

Though the government has funded several drug addiction programs, the majority remain alcoholics. Researchers from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences allude that more resources are supposed to be allocated to help fight alcoholism cases. To fully tackle the effects of alcoholism, the Indian government recruited more health practitioners across India to help in alcohol abuse treatment.

Allowing the international alcoholic beverage suppliers to penetrate the Indian market without proper control is believed to be one of the worst-case scenarios that may erode gains made in fighting alcoholism. The need to establish strict policies to guide alcohol supply and sale is critical in managing the high rate of alcohol addiction among the Indian population.

Alcohol addiction among professionals in India

Various sectors in India bear the brunt of alcoholism. Most professionals in the Indian workforce have fallen into the trap of alcoholism, thereby affecting service delivery. Though the Indian government has put various measures to curb the rising alcoholism cases, finding a lasting solution remains a pipe dream. It is due to the complexity associated with controlling individuals from taking alcohol.

In the worst-case scenario, a study conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences indicated that the average monthly expenditure among alcoholic addicts is more than the average monthly salary. This paints a gloomy picture of the future of most professionals who seem stuck in alcoholism.

Apart from the general financial and health implications, the Indian labour market continues to lose labour personnel through redundancy, death, and other profound health implications associated with alcohol addiction. Through a report dabbed Health impact and economic burden of alcohol consumption, slightly over 50 million Indian alcohol consumers need serious medical attention to recover from alcoholism.

Some experts believe that the Lack of employment among most professionals has been fueling alcohol addiction among professionals. Alcohol addicts believe taking alcohol helps them manage frustrations, while in the real sense, continuous alcohol intake is a recipe for poor health and even death. Generally, alcoholism cuts across various classes in society.

Why alcohol rehab centers are important

Alcoholism rehab centres play an essential role in helping alcohol addicts recover from alcoholism. Sunk in alcoholism and wondering what to do to recover?

Facts about alcohol addiction

Alcohol addiction has a myriad of effects on your health. The following are some of the effects associated with chronic alcohol abuse.
-Liver disease
-Pancreatitis
-Malnutrition
-High blood pressure
-stroke
-Fibrosis
-Kidney failure
-Swelling of blood vessel
-Depressed immunity system leading to susceptibility to chronic Tuberculosis and pneumonia
Irregular heartbeat

Meanwhile, the Lack of a proper framework to curb alcohol addiction across most cities in India provides a recipe for poor drinking habits that continue to waste the lives of many resourceful professionals in society.

Conclusion

Alcohol is the most commonly used addictive in most households across the World. Though exciting, especially when taken in groups as you crack jokes, alcohol's long-term effects have severe implications in a person's wellbeing. If alcohol intake is not managed correctly, it is a recipe for various health problems and even death. It is against this backdrop that you should quit alcohol and mind your health.

Some experts also believe that too much alcohol consumption may cause cancer. Therefore if you are a fan of alcohol, you must take moderate quantities or stop taking. This article offers great insight into the toll alcohol addiction has taken among Indian citizens. There is a need to put proper measures to regulate and sensitize the public about the effects of taking alcohol.

Article by Tony John
Tony John is a professional blogger from India, who started his first Weblog in 1998 at Tripod.com. Tony switched to blogging as a passion blended business in the year 2000 and currently operates several popular web properties including IndiaStudyChannel.com, Techulator.com, dotnetspider.com and many more.

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Comments

Author: Umesh11 Jan 2021 Member Level: Diamond Points : 8

This is quite an exhaustive and realistic alert from the author highlighting the effects of this addiction.

There is no doubt that alcohol addiction is a menace to the society and in context with its big presence in the student circles, it is a sure way to ruin their career and lives. When we try to understand this grave situation from the Indian social context then one thing that is emerging out is that we have a particular Indian culture back in our houses as compared to the campus and hostel life and that significant difference in our way of living in the house and in campus or hostel environment is a factor which further fuels this addiction as the students start hiding it from their parents and in many cases parents do not know the effect of it in their children and by the time they find it and realize, it is quite late and is in an irreversible stage.

There do not appear any easy solutions for this menace in our country but parent's awareness and timely rehabilitation can help to some extent and it is also very true that today, monitoring, control, and vigil on the children is also very much required though we talk of a free and bold society where everyone is free to live in one's ways.

In my humble opinion, students/ children, till they are pursuing education and are not have got a job of their own, should not be let free like grown-up individuals. It is only when a person starts earning, he gets to know the value of money and thinks twice before spending it. So parents have to be strict on this account and should not be lenient with the children in financial matters.

So, in nutshell, culminating good habits in the children can make them understand as to what are the vices from which they have to be dissociated even if there is a force and insistence from the fellow students.

Author: Dr. Sanchita Ranjan11 Jan 2021 Member Level: Gold Points : 3

Very nice article by the author. Alcoholism is a big challenge for our society. The number of addicted people has been increasing day by day. Earlier only a few were addicted to alcohol. But now the situation has changed. Not only professionals but teenagers as well as ladies are also addicted to it. Intake of alcohol is not only wastage of money but leads to the deterioration of our health also. According to the WHO, 50% of alcohol consumers are at high risk. There is a great need to control it within time or else our next generation would suffer a lot.

Author: K Mohan07 Mar 2022 Member Level: Platinum Points : 2

Alcoholism among kids is posing a great challenge to the parents. Though the modern parents are not leaving the child alone and mostly they drop the kids in the school and then arrange for pick up in the evening, what is done by the child during the day is not known. The school is responsible for the conduct and behavior of every child when they are in the school and so there must be strict vigil on the movements of each student inside the campus and they should not be allowed to go out. We find the govt schools are more exposed to such bad elements as there are no guards to control the students and the teachers are also not able to manage all the students individually.

Author: Sheo Shankar Jha16 Mar 2022 Member Level: Diamond Points : 3

Alcoholism is a kind of disease which cannot be treated fully unless the common mass understands it's side effects fully. The unfortunate part is that a lot of adolescents are addicted to heavy drinking and once habituated, it becomes almost impossible for them to come out of this bad habit. There could be effective solution to this menace if the following steps, among others, are taken to make them self conscious and aware-
1) Any advertisement appearing in the social media, newspapers or its wide advertisements on the road side boards are to be curbed.
2) The liquor shops have to be shifted to other areas where the concentrations of the people are less.
3) Price should be enhanced to the level that it would discourage the customers of its consumption.
4) Our own syllabus should be made in such a way that there should be elaborate details of its side effects to be incorporated in the text book of social studies. The details of the disease with which they are to suffer are to be discussed at length.
5) Adequate rehabilitation centers are to be made functional to take care of the affected mass and wherever counseling is required, it should be made available to normalize the affected masses.

Author: DR.N.V. Srinivasa Rao09 Sep 2023 Member Level: Diamond Points : 3

It is true that many families in India are getting ruined due to this habit of drinking. Addiction to alcohol is a serious problem and many poor families, especially in rural India, are getting ruined in our country.

I have seen many professionals who maintain a mini bar in their houses and they can't spend a day without having a drink. But one point to be noted here is many of the professionals will never go beyond a limit. But some others will never know where to stop and continue for a long time. Many professionals feel that taking alcohol within limits and not going beyond particular limits will not harm them. But how many people can understand their limits and consume moderate Alcohol only?

Unfortunately, the governments in India are indirectly encouraging consumption of alcohol because the sale of alcohol will get them a lot of money in the form of taxes. I feel the whole country should have one policy which is no alcohol policy only.

Author: Sheo Shankar Jha11 Sep 2023 Member Level: Diamond Points : 2

The most unfortunate aspect regarding the indiscriminate use of alcohol is the neutral attitude of the government despite the fact that the side effects of liquors are no more secret in terms of health but the same is not being banned for sale since that would amount to huge revenue loss. On the other hand, the side effects of alcoholism are circulated in the public advertisements or in the newspapers. Escalating its price to manifold, is, of course not the solution to curb its consumption since a habituated person will buy the same despite the price hikes.
The government has to take a stern action regarding its sales so that public health is not affected due to the consumption of alcohol.

Author: DR.N.V. Srinivasa Rao17 Sep 2023 Member Level: Diamond Points : 2

Yesterday I witnessed a situation. The husband of a servant maid has beaten his wife and taken away Rs.1000/- He spent that money in a liquor shop. She said it happens many times in their house. Why I mentioned this here is just because the problem is not only with professionals many poor people are also getting addicted to this and ruining their families. Many poor families get free rice from the government and they sell that rice in the shops and with that money they will drink alcohol. This is happening in many poor families.
Many professionals in the name of sales promotion or customer interaction, spend evenings with their clients or others with a drink. That is how in India we are seeing more and more people getting addicted.

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