Children and alcohol
In Western Europe there is a trend where more teenagers are turning to alcohol at a younger and younger age. This trend is also creeping into Asia. In Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines more teenagers are starting to drink alcoholic beverages at an earlier age. In the Philippines 15-16 year olds are drinking and the age is dropping to 12 years.
In Thailand 50 per cent of children start drinking before the age of 15 years. 45 per cent of Malaysian youth fewer than 18 consume alcohol regularly. Of all the legal and illegal drugs, alcohol is by far the most widely used by teenagers, and according to a national survey many are regularly drinking to excess.
In 1997 Alcopops, or alcoholic lemonades and sodas with 4-5 per cent alcohol hit Malaysia and targeted the youths. They went by brand names such as Hooch, Stinger, DNA and Two Dogs and the bottles were colourful with cartoon characters which clearly indicated they were designed to appeal to youth.
They were initially sold in nightspots and soon made their way to supermarkets and sold along with soft drinks. In the UK alcopops have been in the centre of controversies and studies show that they contribute to an increase in underage drinking.
Loss for the nation
Drinking costs a nation billions of dollars. While the hidden cost has not been calculated for many of our countries, the burden on any nation is bound to be substantial when the cost of medical care, lost productivity through absenteeism, accidents at work, loss of job skills, salaries for police and social workers, court costs, damage to property and cars, insurance payments, etc. are added together.
Some figures:
Malaysia - 38 per cent of those who died in road accidents; 30 per cent of hospital admissions for head injuries, 25 per cent below average in work performance of alcoholics ; 10 per cent reported having health problems; Alcoholics are 16 times more likely to be absent from their jobs
Thailand – 62 per cent of traffic accident victims;
India – 300 die from methanol poisoning; 3000 suffer long term disabilities such as blindness; 10 per cent of male suicides;
Sri Lanka – the number of liver cirrhosis patients is increasing, among oral cancer patients 68 per cent were alcohol users; driving under influence of alcohol is 20 per 100,000
Myanmar (Burma) – 11 per cent of psychiatric inpatients received primary diagnosis of alcohol dependence.
Prohibition – India's experience
In Asia's context, India's experience serves as a good reference as to whether prohibition is the right strategy to adopt.
Prohibition is enshrined in the Constitution of India and the states of Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat have imposed it.
The Andhra people were formerly among the heaviest drinkers in India.
The women blamed arrack, the local liquor popular among the rural folk, for rising domestic violence and the impoverishment of families.
A grassroots movement led by women led to prohibition, which brought a dramatic effect on society. However, Andhra Pradesh had to reverse the prohibition policy for several reasons including smuggling, failure of the state agencies to monitor the state's long border, illicit brewing, which had gone up by 20-30 times, and loss of revenue.
What is clear is there must be well-grounded economic policy in place such as taxation of various kinds, safeguards against corruption, measures to deter illegal production, promotion of a social climate which discourages drinking, along with efficient enforcement, if prohibitions are to work.
In Western Europe there is a trend where more teenagers are turning to alcohol at a younger and younger age. This trend is also creeping into Asia. In Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines more teenagers are starting to drink alcoholic beverages at an earlier age. In the Philippines 15-16 year olds are drinking and the age is dropping to 12 years.
In Thailand 50 per cent of children start drinking before the age of 15 years. 45 per cent of Malaysian youth fewer than 18 consume alcohol regularly. Of all the legal and illegal drugs, alcohol is by far the most widely used by teenagers, and according to a national survey many are regularly drinking to excess.
In 1997 Alcopops, or alcoholic lemonades and sodas with 4-5 per cent alcohol hit Malaysia and targeted the youths. They went by brand names such as Hooch, Stinger, DNA and Two Dogs and the bottles were colourful with cartoon characters which clearly indicated they were designed to appeal to youth.
They were initially sold in nightspots and soon made their way to supermarkets and sold along with soft drinks. In the UK alcopops have been in the centre of controversies and studies show that they contribute to an increase in underage drinking.
Loss for the nation
Drinking costs a nation billions of dollars. While the hidden cost has not been calculated for many of our countries, the burden on any nation is bound to be substantial when the cost of medical care, lost productivity through absenteeism, accidents at work, loss of job skills, salaries for police and social workers, court costs, damage to property and cars, insurance payments, etc. are added together.
Some figures:
Malaysia - 38 per cent of those who died in road accidents; 30 per cent of hospital admissions for head injuries, 25 per cent below average in work performance of alcoholics ; 10 per cent reported having health problems; Alcoholics are 16 times more likely to be absent from their jobs
Thailand – 62 per cent of traffic accident victims;
India – 300 die from methanol poisoning; 3000 suffer long term disabilities such as blindness; 10 per cent of male suicides;
Sri Lanka – the number of liver cirrhosis patients is increasing, among oral cancer patients 68 per cent were alcohol users; driving under influence of alcohol is 20 per 100,000
Myanmar (Burma) – 11 per cent of psychiatric inpatients received primary diagnosis of alcohol dependence.
Prohibition – India's experience
In Asia's context, India's experience serves as a good reference as to whether prohibition is the right strategy to adopt.
Prohibition is enshrined in the Constitution of India and the states of Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat have imposed it.
The Andhra people were formerly among the heaviest drinkers in India.
The women blamed arrack, the local liquor popular among the rural folk, for rising domestic violence and the impoverishment of families.
A grassroots movement led by women led to prohibition, which brought a dramatic effect on society. However, Andhra Pradesh had to reverse the prohibition policy for several reasons including smuggling, failure of the state agencies to monitor the state's long border, illicit brewing, which had gone up by 20-30 times, and loss of revenue.
What is clear is there must be well-grounded economic policy in place such as taxation of various kinds, safeguards against corruption, measures to deter illegal production, promotion of a social climate which discourages drinking, along with efficient enforcement, if prohibitions are to work.