GUWAHATI: The latest National Family Health Survey-6 (NFHS-6) 2023-2024 has revealed significant gender and regional disparities in alcohol consumption across northeastern States, with men continuing to consume alcohol at far higher rates than women throughout the region.
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According to the survey, Arunachal Pradesh recorded the highest alcohol consumption among women in the Northeast, with 23.2 per cent of women aged 15 years and above reporting alcohol use. The State also reported the highest alcohol consumption among men at 50.5 per cent, indicating widespread alcohol use across both genders.
Sikkim emerged as another State with comparatively high alcohol consumption levels, where 19.9 per cent of women and 42.2 per cent of men reported consuming alcohol. In contrast, States such as Mizoram and Meghalaya reported significantly lower alcohol consumption among women despite relatively higher consumption among men.
In Assam, alcohol consumption among women aged 15 years and above stood at 5.8 per cent in 2023-2024, marking a decline from 7.3 per cent recorded during NFHS-5 conducted between 2019 and 2021. Among men in Assam, alcohol consumption declined slightly to 23.8 per cent from 25.2 per cent in the previous survey cycle.
The survey also highlighted a noticeable rural-urban divide across most northeastern States. In Assam, 6.4 per cent of rural women reported consuming alcohol compared to 2.1 per cent in urban areas. Among men, rural consumption stood at 24.5 per cent against 19.7 per cent in urban centres.
Tripura reported alcohol consumption among 6 per cent of women and 29.5 per cent of men, while Meghalaya recorded relatively low alcohol use among women at 1.2 per cent despite 28.3 per cent of men reporting alcohol consumption.
Mizoram recorded one of the lowest alcohol consumption rates among women at 0.9 per cent, while alcohol use among men in the State stood at 23 per cent. In Nagaland, 1.6 per cent of women and 26.9 per cent of men reported consuming alcohol.
Across the Northeast, the data reflects a consistent pattern of significantly higher alcohol consumption among men than women, although certain States such as Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim continue to report comparatively high consumption levels among women as well.
The National Family Health Survey-6, conducted between 2023 and 2024, provides key data on population, health and nutrition indicators across India and individual States and Union Territories, except Manipur.