Alcohol, guns, Uttar Pradesh are easily associated with each other but if you think the state is also the numero uno with them then you cannot be any more wrong. A shocking revelation by the Annual Health Survey conducted in India, the world's largest Demographic survey has revealed that UP is the state with the second to least number of alcohol consuming people in India.

AHS has conducted a survey of personal habits for the first time in over 4.1 million house holding covering more than 20.1 million people. This has revealed that only 6.8% of UP households over 15 consume alcohol. In Chattisgarh the prevalence is thrice as much with 19.7% people indulging in the alcoholic beverages.

Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Assam were all surveyed under AHS as Rajasthan recorded the lowest prevalence at 3.4% while UP has stood next to it.

The Registrar General of India (RGI) held the survey in 284 districts in these states that account for about 48% of the total population, 59% of all births, 70% of all infant deaths, 75% of under five deaths and 62% of maternal deaths in the country. Chattisgarh was recorded to be the most inebriated state with as much as 31.6% of the population consuming alcohol of any form followed by Jharkhand (24.6%) and Assam (23.8%).

10% of Assamese women indulged in drinking claiming the top position for female alcoholics. They were followed by women from Jharkhand (8.2%), Chhattisgarh (7.4%) and Odisha (4.5%).

(AW- Anil)