Alcohol use is a growing health disaster for Nepal: the risk is deepening due to the lack of strict policies

Lalitpur, November 28. Stakeholders have said that the growing trend of alcohol use in Nepal is causing serious crises including non-communicable diseases, mental health problems, domestic violence, road accidents and suicide. The conclusion that the problem is getting worse due to the lack of a clear, comprehensive and strict alcohol policy was made in the discussion program on 'Situation of alcohol use in Nepal: policy challenges, low and mental health'.

In the program organized by Nepal Alcohol Policy Network (NAPA) and coordinated by Ministry of Health and Population and National Health Education, Information and Communication Center (NHEICC), various aspects of policy, health, treatment and social impact were discussed in depth.

The chief guest of the program, Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Population, Vikas Devkota, said that alcohol is no longer a matter of personal choice but a national public health crisis.

"In more than 80 percent of the non-communicable diseases seen in Nepal, alcohol is seen as the main cause," he said, "Alcohol is also a factor in mental health problems, road accidents, domestic and social confusion."

He mentioned that although the excise tax raised from the sale of alcohol increases revenue in the short term, it causes serious damage to production, productivity and public health in the long term. "Due to the consumption of alcohol, it seems that the treatment is not enough even by selling the house," he warned.

Use among women and youth is increasing rapidly

Health engineer Shant Lal Mulmi said there are no effective restrictions on buying, selling and consuming alcohol in Nepal.

"20 years ago, women did not consume alcohol, now most women use it," he said.

According to him, the use of alcohol reduces the use of skills, productivity is low and poor families spend about 15 percent of their income on alcohol. He said that the trend of considering alcohol consumption as a standard of living is dangerous.

According to the National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS), Senior Public Health Administrator of NHEISC, Upendra Dhungana informed that the consumption of alcohol among women has increased by 54.9 percent from 2013 to 2024.

"Overall alcohol consumption is on the rise from 2000 to 2024," he said, adding that "home delivery from online apps, anytime availability and advertising in media such as sports have increased the risk."

He presented the example of food grains being used to make alcohol in Humla, 36 deaths due to alcohol in the last two months and some countries issuing travel advisories not to consume alcohol in Nepal due to alcohol mixed with pesticides.

Profound impact on mental health

Dr. Kanti Children's Hospital's mental health department. Jasmin Ma said alcohol increases mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, dementia, sexual problems and hallucinations.

"It doesn't take that much alcohol to cause a problem," she said.

She mentioned that there are many cases of women and children suffering mentally in the family due to alcohol.

Treatment is expensive and complicated

According to Richmond Fellowship Executive Director Vishnu Phuyal, there are about 1.1 million high-risk alcohol users in Nepal.

"Alcoholism treatment is long, complicated and expensive," he said, "every month one person dies during treatment."

He informed that 9,961 drug users received treatment in 2080 and this number increased to 12,057 in 2082.

Policy and Act requirements

Civin Executive Director Kumar Bhattarai said, "The more alcohol increases, the more development decreases," saying that alcohol consumption is creating a serious obstacle to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

"Confusion and false propaganda can be stopped only if we move ahead with policies and laws," he said.

NHEIC Director Dr. Radhika Thapalia said that it would be a great achievement if teenagers can be saved from alcohol. "Change must start with the youth," she said, adding that "the integration of alcohol and mental health into the primary health package is progressing."

In the program, there was also a discussion about putting pressure on the government by conducting a nationwide signature campaign for the formulation of an alcohol policy. It is concluded that a long-term strategy to reduce availability, control advertising and increase public awareness, not just tax increases, requires the participation of all parties.

The program was completed under the chairmanship of Siwin Nepal President Madhav Pradhan.