Colombo, alcohol and health: A campaign to counter rise in consumption and abuse

The initiative, scheduled from 3 to 10 October, coincides with World Temperance Day. The health costs due to alcohol use (or abuse) in the country are around 726 million euros. There are 20,000 alcohol-related deaths and associated illnesses each year. A decalogue to relaunch the fight against abuse.

Colombo (AsiaNews) - A week of awareness-raising on the issue of alcohol, the social costs of addiction and related social problems. This is the initiative launched by the Sri Lanka Temperance Association, which from 3 October, World Temperance Day, until the 10th of the month will promote a series of initiatives and related events. The inaugural ceremony is scheduled to take place this afternoon at the Buddhist temple of Sri Dharmavijayaloka Viharaya, in Pannipitiya, a suburb of the Colombo district under the patronage of Sri Lanka Temperance Movement President Ittapane Dharmalankara Mahanayake Thero.

The Alcohol and Drug Information Center (Adic) claims that the health and economic cost in the country due to alcohol use (or abuse) is 237 billion rupees (about 726 million euro). More than 30 million people worldwide die each year from substance-related illnesses and accidents. In Sri Lanka alone, the number of deaths due to alcohol and alcohol-related illnesses is about 20 thousand each year; to this must be added the almost 35 thousand children who lose their fathers and 18 thousand wives on the island who lose their husbands for this reason.

Also according to data released by Adic, almost 50 Sri Lankans die prematurely every day due to alcohol consumption, which also has economic repercussions: the substance, in fact, does not prove to be a source of income for the country, even though the government received 165 billion rupees (over 500 million euro) from taxes on alcohol in 2022, according to a study conducted by the United Nations Development Fund (Source - Investment Case For Alcohol Control In Sri Lanka 2022- UNDP) published last year.

The National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act (Nata) by decree number 27 of 2006 banned alcohol and tobacco advertising in Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, in violation of the existing laws, alcohol companies continue to promote the sale and consumption of alcohol by targeting the entire population, including children and young people, in an unethical and illegal manner. ‘Children and young people,’ explains an Adic note, ‘are a key target for alcohol companies, who aim to attract new consumers to their product’ instead of explaining its harmful effects, confirmed by the many ‘people who die prematurely due to alcohol use’.

Hence the call for moderation in the consumption of alcoholic beverages, which could benefit the entire country, also and above all for a reduction in healthcare costs, an improvement in general health and greater harmony in the family. Moreover, the World Health Organisation (WHO) itself has repeatedly pointed out that alcohol taxation policies are among the most effective, cost-effective and scientifically proven control measures.

In this regard, Sampath The Serum, Executive Director of Adic, outlines a decalogue that provides for, among others specific taxation; enforcement of regulations already in place to reduce the consumption of alcoholic beverages, along the lines of the laws against tobacco use; enforcement to control illegal liquor and support programmes that discourage its use and abuse, particularly among younger people; formulating and implementing counselling, treatment and other services and programmes necessary to free those who are addicted to alcohol; and working to prevent interference by the alcohol industry to weaken existing policies and prevent the introduction of new policies that counteract their spread.