Average age for alcohol initiation is 13, says study

MORE TEENAGERS ARE HITTING THE BOTTLE EARLY AT 13 YEARS

The average initiation age for consuming alcohol in India is 13 years, down from 17 years in 2007, according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

This alarming statistic shows how easy it is for underage drinkers to get hold of alcohol.

In the 1980s, the average age of initiation of alcohol was 28 years.

By 2007 it was 17 years. In 2015 under-15 drinking had seen a rise and this recent report shows that drinking can begin as early as 13 years of age.

The average initiation age for consuming alcohol in India is 13 years, down from 17 years in 2007, according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Alcohol is easily available to teenagers. Beer sales in AP and TS increased by 50 per cent between 2012 and 2018, and by 30 per cent in 2017-18.

Dr K.S. Soma Sekhar Rao, consultant medical gastroenterologist and hepatologist at Apollo Hospitals, said, “This is a worrying trend. The WHO global status report on alcohol and health shows that 30 per cent of the total population of India consumes alcohol regularly.”

Apart from health problems, there is addiction, motor vehicle accidents, falls, burns, assaults and also drowning related to regular consumption of alcohol.

Hospital registries show that 30 to 50 per cent of admissions are due to crimes, accidents and injuries caused by alcohol intake.

Underlying depression is one of the major reasons people consume alcohol.

Dr P.K. Choudhary, senior psychiatrist, said, “It is one of the reasons for addiction and many a times we find that the person is not aware of the fact that they are going through depression.”