Arrack is a distilled alcoholic drink typically produced in India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, made from the fermented sap of coconut flowers or sugarcane, and also with grain or fruit depending upon the country of origin. It is sometimes spelled arak, or simply referred to as 'rack or 'rak. It is not to be confused with the anise-flavored distilled spirit called arak or araq. In many parts of India arrack is colloquially known as "desi daru".
The 1992 Odisha liquor deaths took place in May 1992 in Cuttack, Odisha State, India. More than 200 people died after drinking illegally brewed poisonous liquor; another 600 people were hospitalised. It was one of the biggest tragedies of its kind in India.
The Gujarat alcohol poisonings occurred in July 2009 in Gujarat, resulting in the death of 136 people from consumption of bootleg liquor.
Alcohol is prohibited in the states of Bihar, Gujarat, Mizoram, and Nagaland. All other Indian states and union territories permit the sale of alcohol.
Kerala State Beverages Corporation Ltd (BEVCO) is a public sector company fully owned by the Government of Kerala, it started under Civil Supplies Department in 1984 under the Minister N Sreenivasan, K Karunakaran Ministry. Since then BEVCO has the authority under the Abkari Act & allied Rules for the wholesale and retail vending of alcoholic liquor in Kerala. It controls the retail sales of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and Beer in the state.
The legal drinking age in India and the laws which regulate the sale and consumption of alcohol vary significantly from state to state. In India, consumption of alcohol is prohibited in the states of Bihar, Gujarat, Nagaland, and Mizoram, as well as the union territory of Lakshadweep. There is partial ban on alcohol in some districts of Manipur. All other Indian states permit alcohol consumption but fix a legal drinking age, which ranges at different ages per region. In some states the legal drinking age can be different for different types of alcoholic beverage.
The 2012 Odisha alcohol poisonings killed at least 29 people in the Indian state of Odisha in February 2012.
The 2008 Karnataka-Tamil Nadu alcohol poisonings was an incident in the southern Indian states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in May 2008 in which 180 people reportedly died after consuming illicit liquor. This incident is considered to be the worst methanol poisoning in the country since at least 2000.
In June 2015, at least 102 people died after drinking contaminated alcohol in the Laxmi Nagar slum in Malad, located in Mumbai, India. Another 45 people were hospitalised as a result of the incident. The incident has been described as the worst of its kind in over a decade.
Alcohol in Indonesia refers to the alcohol industry, alcohol consumption and laws related to alcohol in the South East Asian country of Indonesia. Indonesia is a Muslim majority country, yet it is also a pluralist, democratic and secular nation. These social and demographic conditions led to Islamic parties and pressure groups pushing the government to restrict alcohol consumption and trade, while the government carefully considers the rights of non-Muslims and consenting adults to consume alcohol, and estimates the possible alcohol ban effects on Indonesian tourism and the economy.
Alcohol prohibition in Tamil Nadu is governed by the State Prohibition and Excise department as per the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937. TASMAC, a state government-owned company, controls the wholesale and retail vending of alcoholic beverages in the State. On 24 May 2016, after her swearing-in, J. Jayalalitha announced the closing of 500 liquor shops and the reduction of the business hours of State-run liquor shops across the State. On 20 February 2017, the first office order signed by the Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami was the closure of 500 liquor outlets owned by the public sector TASMAC. This is in addition to the 500 liquor outlets closed down by late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in May 2016.
The 2016 Bihar alcohol poisonings killed 16 people on 16 August 2016 in Gopalganj town of Bihar, India. The victims had consumed hooch and complained of nausea and stomach ache.
The 2011 West Bengal alcohol poisonings killed 167 people in December 2011 in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal after consumption of spurious liquor mixed with methanol.
Intoxicants in Sri Lanka are legal in certain contexts. One can legally buy most alcohols, tobaccos, and certain herbals through licensed ayurvedic shops, who are provided the raw materials by the Ministry of Health and then compelled to produce solutions/products that are then sold to the public. It is also possible to purchase tobacco from convenience stores and alcohol from several licensed stores.
In February 2019, at least 168 people died after drinking toxic bootleg alcohol in Golaghat and Jorhat districts in Indian state of Assam. The incident occurred two weeks after 100 people died by drinking toxic alcohol in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The 2020 Punjab alcohol poisoning was an incident in late July and early August 2020, where at least 100 people died after drinking illegally-made toxic alcohol in Punjab, India. Hundreds of raids were conducted in the three affected districts - Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran - along with several other places in and around the Rajpura and Shambhu border in Punjab. Forty people were arrested in relation to the incident. Seven excise officials, six policemen were also suspended over the incident.
On 25 July 2022, at least 42 people died and more than 97 were hospitalized in a methanol poisoning incident in Gujarat, India. The victims had consumed undiluted methyl alcohol (methanol), assuming it to be alcohol. The spurious liquor was then sold to more than 100 people in the villages of Ahmedabad, Botad and Surendranagar.
On 14 December 2022, an alcohol poisoning took place in Bihar, India. The poisoning resulted in the death of 73 people. The victims consumed hooch, that is qualitatively different from the standard alcoholic products. It is the highest death toll in Bihar, since liquor prohibition in state in 2016.
