7 pc women above 15 years drink alcohol in Assam: National Family Health Survey

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS) report has revealed that an average of around 25 per cent men and 7 per cent women above 15 years drink alcohol in Assam.

The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India. The latest NFHS-5 survey was conducted in around 6.37 lakh sample households in 707 districts in 28 states and eight Union Territories, covering 7, 24,115 women and 1, 01,839 men to provide disaggregated estimates up to district level. The NFHS-5 report was released recently by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in Vadodara, Gujarat.

As per the report, only 1 per cent of women in India drink alcohol compared with 22 per cent of men. In Assam, 2.5 per cent women in urban areas and 8.2 per cent women in rural areas (above 15 years) were found to be drinking alcohol. Similarly, 21.2 per cent men in rural and 26 per cent in urban areas drink alcohol in Assam according to the report.

Arunachal Pradesh has the highest alcohol consumption rate in the entire country. Alcohol use among women age 15 and over was found to be highest in Arunachal Pradesh (24 per cent ) and Sikkim (16 per cent ). Alcohol use among men was also highest in Arunachal Pradesh (53per cent ) followed by Sikkim (40 per cent ). Among the north-eastern states, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland recorded the lowest percentage (0.9 per cent ) of women who drink alcohol. For men, the lowest rate of alcohol consumption was recorded in Mizoram (23.7per cent ) and Nagaland (23.9 per cent ).

Only 1.5 per cent women and 32.4 per cent men in Meghalaya were found to be drinking alcohol whereas 6.3 per cent women and 33 per cent men were drinking in Tripura.

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