A report released by the National Statistics Bureau (NSB) on alcohol use and abuse in Bhutan shows that there has been a shift in drinking pattern and a growth in domestic market with steady growth in beer market. It also shows the consumption of home-made alcohol products are higher compared to others. The report was presented today to various stakeholders.
According to the report, the top three alcohol products consumed between 2003 to 2007 are Ara, Bangchang and Beer. Over 1.7 million litres of commercial alcohol products were consumed in 2007, while the homemade alcohol products like ara and bangchang constituted of over 10 million litres. Moreover, the import of alcohol products has also escalated since 2009.
Meanwhile, the Director General of the National Statistics Bureau, Kuenga Tshering said, this is one of the initial steps towards developing GNH-based accounting system. The NSB had taken three demonstration studies representing the three domains of the proposed GNH accounts; social, human and natural capital.
Various other presentations like alcoholic beverage indicators, healthcare cost of alcohol abuse, and descriptive analysis of alcohol liver disease and alcohol control measures were also made.
