Only one in about 38 alcohol dependent people in India have received any treatment, while only one in about 180 people with the affliction were hospitalised, indicating a massive treatment gap in the system, a government survey stated.

As per the "Prevalence and Extent of Substance Use in India" survey, alcohol is the most commonly used psychoactive substance by Indians, with about 14.6 per cent (16 crore people) in the 10-75 age group consuming liquor and the habit is 17 times higher in men when compared to women.

Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Punjab, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa were found to have the highest prevalence of liquor use. After a hiatus of 15 years, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, in collaboration with the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) of AIIMS, conducted the survey and compiled national and state level estimates of people involved in drug abuse.

"This is for the first time that substance use has been studied and documented in the populations of all the states and union territories of the country," Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot said. The last national survey on the extent, pattern and trend of drug abuse was sponsored by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. It was conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in 2000-2001. The report was published in 2004.

However, the 2000-01 survey did not give state level estimates, Gehlot said. The survey report indicated that there was a sizable population in India which was affected by substance use disorders and was in need of urgent help. It added that substance use exists in all population groups, but adult men mostly bear the brunt of substance use disorders.

The survey also confirms that substance use does exist among women in India, though the magnitude of the problem is much smaller compared to men. Children and adolescents is another population group of concern, in which substance use has been documented, the report said.

After alcohol, cannabis and opioids are the next most commonly used substances in the country, the survey has found, said Dr Atul Ambekar, principal investigator of the survey, also professor at National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, AIIMS said. "People who use substances in harmful and dependent pattern, suffering from substance use disorders, are in need of help and it is important to understand to what extent people who need help are able to access the same.

"At the national level, among people affected by alcohol dependence, about 7.7 per cent reported trying to give up alcohol use, ever. Among them approximately one-fourth reported receiving any treatment. Just about one in 38 people with alcohol dependence has received any treatment while one in 180 people received inpatient treatment/hospitalisation for the same," Ambekar explained.

Similar trend is visible among those with dependence on illicit drugs regarding access to treatment services, with only about one in 20 people having received inpatient treatment/hospitalisation ever for help with drug problems. Among those affected by drug dependence, around 44 per cent reported trying to give up drug use, among whom around 25 per cent reported receiving any help or treatment ever.

About 2.8 per cent of Indians (3.1 crore) reported having used some cannabis product (2.2 crore people bhang; 1.3 crore people ganja/charas) in the last 12 months with Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh and Delhi having higher than national average cannabis use.

In some states the prevalence of cannabis use disorders is considerably higher (more than thrice) than the national average like in Sikkim and Punjab. At the national level, the most commonly used opioid is heroin (used by 1.14 per cent of the people surveyed), followed by pharmaceutical opioids (used by 0.96 per cent of the people surveyed) and opium (used by 0.52 per cent of the surveyed).

Approximately 60 lakh people are estimated to have opioid use disorders (harmful or dependent pattern) in the country, more than half are contributed by just a few states -- Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

A sizable number of people use other categories of substances like sedatives and inhalants. About 1.08 per cent in the 10 to 75 years category (approximately 1.18 crore) are current users of sedatives (non-medical, non-prescription use). States with the highest prevalence of current sedative use are Sikkim, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. However, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat are the top five states which house the largest populations of people using sedatives, the survey found.

Inhalants are the only category of substances in which the children and adolescents category (1.17 per cent) has a greater share in prevalent users total compared to adults (0.58 per cent). At the national level, an estimated 4.6 lakh children and 18 lakh adults need help for their inhalant use, the report said.

Nationally, it is estimated that there are about 8.5 lakh people who inject drugs (PWID). High numbers of PWID are estimated in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur and Nagaland. In the survey which was conducted in all the 36 states and union territories, 2,00,111 households were visited in 186 districts and a total of 4,73,569 individuals were interviewed, the report stated.