50 people die daily from alcohol use in Sri Lanka - ADIC

16 January 2026 12:52 pm Views - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} 6 Bookmark

CHATURANGA PRADEEP SAMARAWICKRAMA Follow

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Colombo, Jan. 16 (Daily Mirror) - Around 50 people in Sri Lanka die every day due to alcohol, combining deaths from both legal and illegal alcohol use, according to the Alcohol & Drug Information Center (ADIC).

ADIC Executive Director Sampath de Seram stated that less than 20% of the total population still consume alcohol. Among them, 34.8% are men over 15 years old, while the percentage of women using pesticides remains extremely low at 0.5%.

He also highlighted a concerning rise in the use of illegal alcohol, which according to the Department of Census and Statistics, accounts for around 10% of total alcohol use in the country.

Speaking further, de Seram said: "If we look at the overall alcohol usage in our country, it is still fewer than 20% of the total population. Among men over 15 years old, 34.8% use alcohol, while the number of women remains extremely low at 0.5%. A notable trend recently is the sharp increase in illegal alcohol use. According to the Department of Census and Statistics, around 10% of alcohol use is illegal. We have seen that 5-6 deaths occur from illegal alcohol. However, today, alcohol kills around 50 people daily, this includes both legal and illegal use. Yet, hardly anyone talks about it."

Comments - 6

Crazy8 Friday, 16 January 2026 01:46 PM

To always keep the number around 50, what do they do if only 49 dies on a certain day?

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Best Friday, 16 January 2026 01:49 PM

And we spent billions of tax payers hard earned money on these addicts on them as well as road traffic accidents and other injuries caused by it We need need to stop free health for them As well as accidents caused by addicts

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WHAT IS A COUNTRY WITHOUT ALL ITS PEOPLE GIVEN A FAIR GO IN LIFE, ESPECIALLY THE POOR!!. Saturday, 17 January 2026 05:35 PM

Best, you do not seem to realize that the majority of citizens were NOT born with a gold spoon in their mouths nor wealth coming down from generations. We need to go after those making the illegal booze, fine them heavily, throw them in jail and offer them some on site rehab. The Govt could open some Training facilities in areas where employment is hard to find and people have no financial means to take up a paying course/training nor travel long distances. The majority of disadvantaged citizens have NOT been given a GO for lack of their status and left to dwell in hope that NEVER seemed to have come their way.

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Ram P Friday, 16 January 2026 02:04 PM

Sad to hear the number that leave us daily or annually. Government too earns its share in taxes from the legal brews and from the illicit brews by way of fines.

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Troy Friday, 16 January 2026 02:17 PM

better not to talk about them, death of tuktuk drivers, drunkards and under world figures.

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Sambo Saturday, 17 January 2026 09:10 AM

How an earth do you get these statistics. People are born and have to die as well. These days food is the main killer than alcohol.

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