National Survey on Extent and Pattern of Substance Drug Abuse in India

It was conducted by National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC), AIIMS.

Some Important Findings

    • Nationally, about 14.6% of the population (between 10 and 75 year of age) uses alcohol. In terms of absolute numbers, there are about 16 crore persons who consume alcohol in the country.
    • After alcohol, cannabis and opioids are the next commonly used substances in India. About 2.8% of the population (3.1 crore individuals) reports having used any cannabis product within the previous year.
    • About 2.1% of the country’s population (2.26 crore individuals) uses opioids which include opium (or its variants like poppy husk known as doda/phukki), heroin (or its impure form – smack or brown sugar) and a variety of pharmaceutical opioids.
  • National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (2018- 2023) was launched considering the report and its recommendations.

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