Indians are drinking to their death, not health

Gender contest: Indian men and Indian women are drinking to death — the country is ranked second after China in the number of alcohol-related deaths among men, and third on alcohol-related deaths among women. Safety's off: The findings were the result of a global study that says that there is no safe level of alcohol. Period. That occasional glass of wine or beer increases the risk of health problems, and early death, according to a major study on drinking carried out between 1990 and 2016 in 195 nations that attributes 2.8 million premature deaths globally each year to booze. Total abstinence: Compared with teetotallers, imbibing one 'standard drink' —10 gm of alcohol (think a small beer, glass of wine or shot of spirits) — per day, for example, ups the odds of developing at least one of 23 health problems by about 0.5%, pointed out the researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle, Washington. An average of two drinks per day translated into a 7% rise in disease and injury, compared with those who opt for abstinence. And five drinks per day? A 37% hike. Globally, alcohol consumption was the seventh-leading risk factor for premature death and disease in 2016.