Due to cheap prices, country liquor is the most popular alcoholic beverage among the impoverished people.

[5] An article in the medical journal The Lancet estimated that nearly two-thirds of the alcohol consumed in India is country liquor.

In rural areas, illicit country liquor has been blamed for domestic violence and poverty in the family.

[12] If care is not taken in the distillation process and the proper equipment is not used, harmful impurities such as fusel alcohols, lead from plumbing solder, and methanol can be concentrated to toxic levels.

Several deaths have been reported in India and Pakistan due to consumption of non-factory made toxic liquor.