Anonymous for quite some time now, they peg down faces of alcoholism

Class and gender’s no bar when it comes to hitting the bottle and getting addicted to it: This is what a group of around 50 former alcoholics pointed out during Sunday’s Public Information Meeting (PIM) organised in Karelibaug by the Vadodara chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA).

“Alcoholism is not limited to people from lower classes. Many a billionaire has turned to alcohol and gotten addicted to it,” said an AA member. “Alcoholism is rampant amongst city women, too,” said a 30-year-old drinker who left alcohol six years ago after joining AA. “While in metros like Delhi or Mumbai, women still come out in the open and talk about alcohol dependence, women from Vadodara do not attend PIMs. A reason could be the social stigma that goes with the habit,” said another member. In case a woman does call in, AA refers her to women members in other cities.

Although the Vadodara chapter of the AA began around 18 years ago, it did not have enough members to form PIMs till three years ago. “Now that we have met the requirement of 50 members, PIMs have been conducted since the last three years,” said an AA member. At PIMs, 50 former alcoholics outline 12 steps to get rid of the habit.

“In Gujarat, AA began from Vadodara. More than 1,000 members have been recorded in Gujarat circle (including Surat, Ahmedabad) but consistency has not been maintained,’’ said an AA member. There are almost 200 AA members in Surat, there are 50 in Ahmedabad, he added. “Within two years of joining AA, I managed to kick off my 25-year-old addiction to desi daaru (countrymade liquor),” said a 49-year-old worker adding that it was mostly his family who could perceive his deviations from normal behaviour.

Ahmedabad News