More Women Are Drinking, and Women Are Drinking More: CADD Survey

“The rising affluence and exposure to a different lifestyle is driving women to experiment with alcohol.”

Digging deeper into the increasing consumption of alcohol in the country, a survey by Community Against Drunken Driving (CADD) has looked into the drinking pattern of 5000 women in Delhi NCR, from ages 18 to 60.

According to Road Safety Expert and Activist, Prince Singhal, Founder CADD, “At Rs. 2.7 lakh crore, India’s alcohol market is among the world’s fastest growing. Globally, six percent of the alcohol growth is driven by India, and men and women are drinking a lot more alcohol as compared to the last decade.”

“A steady and silent contributor to this growth has been the increased consumption of alcohol among women who were till recently considered the obvious abstainers. The rising affluence, aspirations, societal pressures and exposure to a different lifestyle is driving women to experiment with alcohol.”

Prince Singhal

Through the survey, the researchers aimed to inquire into the changing psycho-social fabric of the society, the number of drinks consumed in one session, changing preferences of different alcoholic drinks, and average spending on alcohol, among other things.

Some Findings

• 43.7% women in the age group 18-30 years consumed alcohol out of habit or desire
• 41.7% women in the age group of 31-45 years consumed alcohol as an occupational requirement or because of social norm
• 53.8% women above 60 years and 39.1% women in 46 – 60 years had alcohol for emotional reasons
• 48% women in the age group 18-30 years agreed to having more than four drinks 2-4 times in the last month
• 32.9% in the age group 18-30 years agreed to binge drinking on more than five occasions in the last month
• Monthly expenditure on alcohol has increased considerably over the last two decades, growing spending capacity has added to the going out culture and increased spending on alcohol . On an average Indian household spend over 1% of household income on alcohol
• 51.7% women in the age group 18-30 years and 44.1% women in the age group preferred colored drinks and cocktails
• 39.1% women in the age group 46 – 60 years and 45.5% women in the age group of above 60 years preferred whisky and other hard drinks.
• 31.2% women in the age group 46 – 60 years preferred wine
• An obvious outcome of increased alcohol consumption is drinking and driving which has also increased among women in the last five years
• Women also drove drunk after arguments or when dealing with financial, health or familial problems

Explaining the rise, Prince Singhal said, “Mostly all social activities in the present times are centered around alcohol and it is seen as a quiz and easy social lubricant — and when everyone’s doing the same thing, it doesn’t seem like a problem. Affluence, alcohol as a means of coping with modern-day stresses and ‘pinking’ of the alcohol, combined with sustained messaging in movies and on TV that suggests that alcohol is the best way for women to relax and reward themselves, is all adding up to the rise.”