Telangana's Liquor And Tobacco Consumption Among Women Highest In Nizamabad: NFHS-5 Survey

NIZAMABAD/NEW DELHI: The steady increase of women addicted to alcohol in the district of Nizamabad in Telangana has been on the rise owing to the onset of the pandemic and is posing a serious threat to their health and well-being. Based on the report received after the recent National Family Health survey conducted by the Central Government found that 9.8 per cent of women in the district consume alcohol. It is noteworthy that this is higher than the state average.

The survey revealed that about ten out of every hundred women in the district are addicted to alcohol. Excessive alcohol consumption has been found not only in rural areas but also in urban areas. What was alarming was that while the percentage of women consuming alcohol is 6.7 percent across the State, it is 3.1 percent higher in the district of Nizamabad.

Karvy Data Management Services conducted the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) 2019-20. The survey team went door-to-door to collect details from June 30 to November 14, 2019 last year. It surveyed around 27,351 households across the state and surveyed 891 households in Nizamabad district. The survey took details from people of over 15 years of age. Interesting points came to light after the report was published.

The survey found that 40.02 per cent of men in the district were addicted to alcohol, which was slightly lower than the state average, which showed that 43.3 percent of men in the state consumed alcohol.

The report also spoke about the consumption of tobacco-based products in the district. The details of those who are mainly addicted to beedi, cigarettes, tobacco and gutka were also collected.   The report stated that 8.6 per cent women in the district are addicted to tobacco-based products. While 5.6 per cent of women across the state consume tobacco, more than three per cent of women in the district are addicted to tobacco products. In the case of men, 20.6 per cent of men in the district consumed tobacco products while those who were addicted to tobacco were found to be 22.3 percent across the state.