Sri Lanka is a country of focus for the Noncommercial Alcohol initiative of Global Actions on Harmful Drinking.

The magnitude of the informal alcohol sector in the country is thought to be significant. Since little is known about unrecorded production and consumption practices, successful implementation of comprehensive measures and policies to address harmful drinking remain a challenge.

Market research firm TNS Lanka and Prof. Uditha Liyanage designed and conducted a baseline survey to fill this information gap. The survey was conducted in Colombo and Puttalam, which were identified as high-prevalence areas based on secondary information available on noncommercial alcohol production and consumption. The survey was mainly conducted in slums and semi-urban areas in Colombo and rural and deep rural areas in Puttalam.

Upon completion of a pilot study, we are now working with local researchers in the implementation of an expanded study.

We will report progress regularly, so please visit this page again soon for ongoing updates on our efforts.