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The prevalence of alcohol in Punjab
Drinking in India has always existed since the Vedic age. According to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report, which revealed that more than 11% of Indians were binge drinkers. In Punjab, the number of people drinking far exceeds the average in India. It is surprising that more than half of Punjabi men drink alcohol and the state also houses the highest proportion of children consuming alcohol. The reasons why this phenomenon is so prevalent are that Punjabi's hold much pride and honour in their family name, they don't want anyone to perceive them as having a problem or being weak, and the alcohol is the one thing that is helping them cope with everyday life.

The reasons they make and drink toxic alcohol
The WHO reckons that "unrecorded" alcohol makes up more than half of all alcohol consumed in India. Locally brewed liquor, for example, is not recorded or taxed in some states. A survey by the International Alliance of Responsible Drinking in 2014 found a large number of drinkers preferring country liquor or homemade alcohol, often counterfeit and contraband.

Why is Illegal Liquor So Popular? One reason is the huge unfulfilled demand for booze, which drives supply underground into an unregulated industry. India is the second biggest consumer of alcohol in the world. India consumes more whiskey than any other country in the world, nearly one in every two bottles of whiskey brought around the world is sold in India. Because of the difference in the prices of IMFL liquor and illegal liquor, to limit consumption, many state governments impose excessive taxes on alcohol sales. The state controls the alcohol business in India, where the poor cannot afford licensed brands from government-run shops, but illegal alcohol made in backstreet distilleries which sells for as little as 10 cents a litre, affordable for even the poorest.