KOLKATA: The age at which an average person begins drinking hard liquor has dropped from 28 years a decade ago to 18 now, an indication that a sizeable number of school students is consuming alcohol. With 16% of drinkers turning alcoholics in India, the decline in drinking age can potentially trigger an explosion in the number of people suffering from alcoholism. A person is labelled an alcoholic if he or she has the urge to consume alcohol daily and downs more than two pegs. "Not only do a lot of children experiment with alcohol at a very tender age, the social acceptance of drinking in urban areas is expanding the vulnerable group. While not everyone who drinks liquor turns alcoholic, the lower the age of consumption, higher the chance of a person becoming addicted to alcohol," socio psychologist Nandini Chatterjee said on the sidelines of a meet organized by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), a support group for alcoholics. While de-addiction from alcohol and dea...
Young India Network is a youth (14-30 years) driven network for the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and its risk factors, formed with a vision of having a meaningful involvement of youth and People Living With NCDs in the advocacy of health agenda in India with a primary focus on alcohol and drug use as major risk factors for both communicable and NCDs. It aims to contribute in achieving the Goal 3 of Sustainable Development Goals,ensuring healthy lives .