At report presentation…
THE interim report and matrix, titled ‘Review of the Legal and Regulatory Framework Related to Alcohol Consumption and Associated Problems’, was presented and discussed at a national stakeholders workshop yesterday.

The forum was hosted by the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO), at Cara Lodge, on Quamina Street, Georgetown.

Prepared by attorney-at-Law, mediator, legal consultant and President of Guyana Bar Association (GBA), Mr. Teni Housty, the compendium focused on raising awareness and political commitment; drink-driving policies; addressing the availability of alcohol and the marketing of alcoholic beverages; pricing policies; harm reduction; reducing the public health impact of illegal and informal alcohol and monitoring and surveillance.

Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, speaking at the forum, noted that over the years, it has become evident that alcohol is responsible for many unwarranted deaths.

He said, particularly in the area of sexual reproductive health, the role of alcohol in the spread of HIV cannot be underestimated.

Ramsammy pointed out that alcohol could also lead to other sexually transmitted diseases such as syphillis, gonorrhea and the human papilloma virus, which is responsible for cervical cancer.

The compilation said, in the introduction, that addressing the consequences of alcohol consumption has emerged as a national, regional and international concern.

DEEP CONCERN
It also said that WHO has noted that there is a deep concern regarding the extent of public health problems associated with the harmful uses of alcohol, including injuries and violence, non-communicable diseases and links to some communicable ones which add to the disease burden in both developing and developed countries.

Ramsammy said alcohol, for Guyana and the Caribbean, is not only a social and development issue, from the perspective of health, but from that of the economy.

The documentation said the Guyana National Development Strategy also recognises the consequence of alcohol abuse on families, households, violent offences as well as on the young.

Ramsammy said the judicial system must be linked to the public health work because of the dubious effectiveness of merely imprisoning offenders.

He posited that there must be an opportunity for rehabilitation.

According to him, alcohol has a role in disability and, even though society tends to focus on road deaths, little attention is paid to disabilities which occur as a result of the alcohol abuse.

Ramsammy underlined the importance of it, reminding that freedom of choice must never remove one’s responsibility to others.

He said, when people drink, it is not a personal choice as they are less productive and put theirs and their families lives at risk.

PAHO/WHO Country Representative, Dr Kathleen Israel, mentioned the negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption, which include liver damage, road fatalities, unsafe sexual practices and domestic violence that people are less likely to discuss if they have been using the substance.

She said the problem of under-age drinking is astonishing, as children in the Caribbean can easily purchase beers and other alcoholic beverages.

Israel said, at the international level, the 61st World Health Assembly passed a resolution regarding the strategies for reducing the harmful use of alcohol in which the concerns were outlined in a document titled ‘Strategies to reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol’.

The 63rd such assembly will convene in May 2010, the diplomat disclosed.