Increasing excise taxes on alcoholic beverages and regulating availability of alcohol are some of the ways to discourage people from drinking liquor, a report said Monday. The harmful effects of alcohol are the fifth leading risk factor for premature deaths and disability. It is among the top risk factors for non-communicable diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, the report said. The report titled 'Trouble Brewing' has been prepared by global health and development organisations like Vital Strategies, the NCD Alliance, International Organisation of Good Templars International and the Global Alcohol Policy Alliance (GAPA). The report comes days after a World Health Organisation report said that the per capita alcohol consumption in India has more than doubled from 2005 to 2016.

In India, the consumption of alcohol has increased from 2.4 litre in 2005 to 5.7 litre in 2016, with 4.2 litre being consumed by men and 1.5 litre by women. "The government has the opportunity to prevent millions of deaths from harmful alcohol use every year,' said Adam Karpati, senior vice president, Public Health Programs at the global health organization. Globally, the harmful effects of alcohol are the fifth leading risk factor for premature deaths and disability and among the top risk factors for non-communicable diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. Alcohol use also increases susceptibility to communicable diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS and contributes to suicide, the report noted.