In numbers: How Bihar's ban hasn't curbed alcohol consumption
According to the NFHS-6, nearly 17 per cent of males above 15 consumed alcohol in the state!
In 2016, when former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar banned alcohol in Bihar, the decision was celebrated, especially among women. Bihar soon joined Gujarat, Nagaland, and Mizoram as one of India's dry states.
But has this stopped alcohol consumption in the state? According to data from the sixth round of the National Family Health Survey, about 16.5 per cent of men aged 15 and above consumed alcohol in 2023–24. This was up from 15.4 per cent in the NFHS-5, which was conducted in 2019–21. The NFHS-6 also found that 0.4 per cent of women in the state consumed alcohol despite the statewide ban.
The data also highlight a sharp difference between urban and rural areas. Consumption remained significantly higher in rural Bihar, where 17.1 per cent of men reported drinking alcohol, compared with 12.8 per cent in urban areas.
OTHER VICES
As we have seen, prohibition did not end alcohol consumption in the state. At the same time, Bihar has also witnessed a sharp rise in narcotics-related cases. According to National Crime Records Bureau data, cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act rose from 964 in 2020 to 2,411 in 2024, an increase of nearly 150 per cent.
Health professionals in Bihar have reported a rise in addiction to synthetic substances, sleeping pills and pharmaceutical drugs in the years following prohibition. Doctors at Patna-based Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences say that many alcohol addicts have shifted towards cheaper and more easily available intoxicants after the liquor ban. Recently, law enforcement agencies seized large consignments of codeine-based cough syrups, often abused as an intoxicant.
Nearly a decade after prohibition was introduced as a social reform measure, the policy has struggled to significantly reduce alcohol consumption. The data raises questions about the effectiveness of blanket bans.
In 2016, when former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar banned alcohol in Bihar, the decision was celebrated, especially among women. Bihar soon joined Gujarat, Nagaland, and Mizoram as one of India's dry states.
But has this stopped alcohol consumption in the state? According to data from the sixth round of the National Family Health Survey, about 16.5 per cent of men aged 15 and above consumed alcohol in 2023–24. This was up from 15.4 per cent in the NFHS-5, which was conducted in 2019–21. The NFHS-6 also found that 0.4 per cent of women in the state consumed alcohol despite the statewide ban.
The data also highlight a sharp difference between urban and rural areas. Consumption remained significantly higher in rural Bihar, where 17.1 per cent of men reported drinking alcohol, compared with 12.8 per cent in urban areas.
OTHER VICES
As we have seen, prohibition did not end alcohol consumption in the state. At the same time, Bihar has also witnessed a sharp rise in narcotics-related cases. According to National Crime Records Bureau data, cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act rose from 964 in 2020 to 2,411 in 2024, an increase of nearly 150 per cent.
Health professionals in Bihar have reported a rise in addiction to synthetic substances, sleeping pills and pharmaceutical drugs in the years following prohibition. Doctors at Patna-based Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences say that many alcohol addicts have shifted towards cheaper and more easily available intoxicants after the liquor ban. Recently, law enforcement agencies seized large consignments of codeine-based cough syrups, often abused as an intoxicant.
Nearly a decade after prohibition was introduced as a social reform measure, the policy has struggled to significantly reduce alcohol consumption. The data raises questions about the effectiveness of blanket bans.
