Study of Drunkenness at Civil Hospital, Sola, Ahmedabad

Gujarat has sumptuary law (Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949) in force that proscribes the sale, purchase and consumption of alcoholic drinks. The legislation has been in force since 1 May 1960 when Bombay State dissolved into Maharashtra and Gujarat.Predictably, smuggling and illicit sale of alcohol are very common. Illegal drinking is continued in almost all classes of society. In July, 2009 hooch tragedy claimed 136 lives at Ahmedabad. In present study, the cases received for examination related to drunkenness were studied. The place of the study was Civil Hospital, Sola, Ahmedabad over a total period offour years from 2009 to 2012.In the year of hooch tragedy(2009), the proportion of cases related to drunkenness was relatively low (222 out of 2237 medico-legal cases forming 9.92%). However, the mortality resulting from hooch tragedy had no effect on people's mindsets and drinking is continued in as before in usual manner. The proportion of cases of drunkenness have increased in the forthcoming year 2010 (19.73%), year 2011 (15.25%) and year 2012 (22.71%).