Study to assess the social and economic impact of alcohol in a Peri-Urban area of Tamil Nadu

Alcoholic beverages have been used in human societies since the beginning of recorded history. There is a exponential relationship between the amount of alcohol consumed and criminal behavior, including drunken driving and legal arrests. The cost associated with alcohol amount to more than 1% of gross national product in high income and middle-income countries, with the costs of social harm constituting a major proportion in addition to heath cost.

A community based cross sectional study was carried out using pretested questionnaire method to find out social and economic impact of alcohol in study population. Study population included all alcoholics aged between 18 and above who visited UHTC for other ailments & were willing to participate during the period and data analyses done with SPSS ver. 15.0.

Among 212 individuals, 37% alcoholics were involved in public commotion, rash driving, nearly 90% of them utilize their family income for alcohol consumption, 65% of them were in financial crisis and lost their job. On family income basis, the economic impact of excessive alcohol consumption is approximately 20–30%.