Abstinence or illegal liquor? Very few have withdrawal symptoms

KOCHI: It seems addicts in Ernakulam are getting used to liquor abstinence as  very few withdrawal symptom cases have been reported during this lockdown. Excise officials also suspect that it is because of the clandestine  supply of liquor/arrack in the black market and some people, anticipating the  lockdown, stocking up enough to survive for a month. 

Shijo Antony, a  counsellor of the excise’s Vimukthi de-addiction programme, said very few people  are coming forward with withdrawal symptoms these days. “During the lockdown last year, we used to get frequent  calls from persons or their relatives for counselling after facing  withdrawal symptoms. However, there are very few such cases this time. We  had  even organised counselling sessions on Google Meet during which a lot of persons spoke about their addiction issues last year,” he said.

“This year,  the lockdown was well anticipated. Maybe, addicts stocked enough liquor to survive for a month. Another  possibility is that liquor or  illegally brewed arrack is available in the black market,” he said.

An excise  officer who works with the de-addiction centre at Muvattupuzha  government hospital said there are very few cases reported at the  hospital. “Maybe, fearing severe Covid-19 spread, addicts  are not seeking medical assistance. As Muvattupuzha government hospital is  a Covid hospital now, there is no admission of de-addiction  patients,” he said.

Ernakulam Excise Deputy Commissioner T A  Ashokumar said the supply of liquor through the black market cannot be  ruled out. “Last year, it was for the first time that liquor shops in the  state were closed for over a month. Regular drinkers had never experienced a situation like that before. Having the experience of last year, regular users of liquor could be waiting with the hope of reopening liquor outlets in a month. But we cannot rule out the  availability of liquor in the black market.

There are possibilities of liquor supply  taking place from neighbouring states and Union Territory where shops  are open. Brewing of arrack could also be  taking place in  individual houses for personal use,” he said.

According to him, after  the lockdown was declared this year, around 1,700 litres of wash and 700 litres of arrack have been  seized in Ernakulam district. “Most of such cases were reported from  rural areas. We act on intelligence inputs. However,  it will be very hard to detect if arrack is brewed in small quantities inside houses for individual use,” he  said.