Next time you find a teenager in an inebriated state,you can't even dare to scold him because he has every legal right to consume alcohol as the age-limit for consuming alcohol has been reduced to 13.5 in India.This age-limit a few years ago was 19 and way back in the 90's it was 28.
India has the highest alcohol consuming population in the world.This alcohol consuming population is even bigger than the total Britian population.Between 2002 and 2008 India experienced a 90% jump in the sales of alcohol.And due to this the Government gets 20% of it's Excise revenue from these alcohol shops.The state of Kerala has the highest percentage of population consuming alcohol which is closely followed by Punjab and Haryana.
This further drop in age limit for dinking has our Health Minister Mr.Anubmani Ramadoss in worry as according to him alcohol consumption is the leading cause for many diseases.According to me,when we have statutory warning on all cigarette boxes stating "Smoking is injurious to health",why not have a similiar warning on all alcohol bottles.I even think the awareness of the harms of alcohol consumption is not that effective as Smoking.The Government should take more innovative steps in creating awareness among the youth by conducting seminars in schools,colleges etc.
The two states namely Gujarat and Jammu&Kashmir can take a lot of pride because they are the only two states in India that have a complete ban on shops selling alcohol.Why can't the other states follow this example?Why is Revenue more important than the lives of young people?
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