India's love for liquor is growing rapidly as the country's per capita alcohol consumption has more than doubled since 2005, according to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO).

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The per capita alcohol consumption in India has more than doubled to 5.7 litres in 2016 from 2.4 litres in 2005. Of the total consumption, 4.2 litres are consumed by men and 1.5 litres by women, the study showed.

Globally, the trend wasn't very surprising, with per capita alcohol consumption rising to 6.4 litres in 2016 from 5.5 litres in 2005. The global per capita consumption remained unchanged during 2010-2016.

The per capita alcohol consumption globally is expected to increase by 0.6 litres globally by 2025. India, on the other hand, is expected to witness a 2.2 litres increase in per capita in alcohol consumption during the same period, highest among all countries.

India is followed by China, where the per capita alcohol consumption is expected to increase by 0.9 litres.

92 percent of the alcohol consumption in India comprises of Spirits, 8 percent is beer consumption and the rest is wine consumption.

44.4 percent of the drinker population (above 15 years of age) in India are classified as episodic drinkers (consuming at least 60 grams or more of pure alcohol on at least one occasion in the past). The prevalence of heavy drinkers is even higher around 51 percent amongst young drinkers (15-19 years of age).

With the rise in alcohol consumption, there is also a surge in diseases related to alcohol abuse. According to the report, as many as 1.46 lakh people died in India due to liver cirrhosis, followed by 0.9 lakh deaths due to road accidents attributed to alcohol abuse and around 31,000 cancer deaths.

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First Published:Sept 24, 2018 2:39 PM IST