The Director General of Health Services (DGHS), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has asked health professionals to avoid alcohol in their conferences, CMEs. The advice came after DGHS noticed a rise in cases of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and one of the risk factors was alcohol consumption. DGHS believed that avoidance of alcohol by doctors would send a good message to the society which the common people would emulate.

Prof Dr Atul Goel, DGHS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in a letter sent to all medical associations, said that NCDs were estimated to account for 63% of all deaths in the country, of which the cardiovascular diseases led with 27% overall mortality cause followed by chronic respiratory diseases (11%), cancers (9%), diabetes (3%) and others (13%) as per the World Health Organisation (WHO)- NCD India Profile-2018. The rise of NCDs has been driven primarily by four major risk factors -- Tobacco Use, Physical Inactivity, Harmful Use of Alcohol, and Unhealthy Diet.

Alcohol use is linked to many diseases and injury conditions, including liver cirrhosis, several cancers (liver, laryngeal oesophageal and oropharyngeal cancers), injuries and haemorrhagic strokes. 5.1% of the global burden of disease and

injury was attributable to alcohol as measured in disability adjusted life years, Dr Goyal pointed out.

“Being health professionals, we should follow healthy lifestyle and it may be advised that alcohol in any form may be avoided in medical conferences/ workshops/ seminars/ CMEs to set an example of a good habit, which can be emulated by others. Let us start this initiative with the doctors first, then later this initiative may spread across all categories of conferences/workshops, seminars, CMEs. The ultimate goal is to reduce the risk factors and NCD burden in the country,” the letter issued by Dr Goyal stated.