Help reduce alcohol abuse

CHEAP alcohol being sold to young people or others who have little sense of control ends up in serious consequences.
It has come to the attention of the authorities that producers of alcoholic beverages have apparently taken advantage of the Government’s inability to properly monitor their operations.
Cheap alcohol apparently does not mean less toxic, but the opposite; the alcohol content of some of these drinks is much higher than the 5 per alcohol volume of a standard 333ml serving of beer in a can or glass bottle.
Chairman of the Special Parliamentary Committee on Alcohol-Related Violence and Goroka MP Aiye Tambua said local manufacturers had exploited an unregulated area by producing beverages that contain a high percentage of alcohol, but selling them cheaply.
Any beverage containing 7.4 per cent to 36 per cent alcohol is classified under a grey area and this has not been regulated under the Food and Sanitation Act of 1991.
Under this law, anything from zero to 7.3 per cent alcohol volume is taxed as beer and anything above 37 per cent is taxed as spirit.
Manufacturers are, therefore, capitalising on this to produce cheaper but potent beverages, the parliamentary committee said.
And for these cheap beverages, there is a ready and willing market of youths and lower income earners.
The parliamentary committee is perhaps only echoing concerns from the public over the growing abuse of cheap alcoholic beverages to consumers who should otherwise not have such easy access to them.
Violence, destruction and loss of life as a direct result of alcohol are commonplace in our communities.
Any change of law or improvements in the enforcement of existing laws by the Government on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages should also consider higher penalties for alcohol-related violence.
It seems liquor licensing commissioners and inspectors have not been enforcing the law for years now.
This may be one of the reasons why access to and abuse of alcohol have seemingly gone out of control.
Years ago, liquor licensing inspectors in provinces had operated effectively and supplies and were regularly checked to ensure they operated within the law.
To address the growing concern of alcohol abuse and its impacts on communities, the parliamentary committee is going to conduct meetings and awareness sessions.
This will be an opportunity for the public and even manufacturers and suppliers of alcoholic drinks to better regulate the industry for the benefit of all stakeholders.
Those who have knowingly exploited the lax attitude of regulators or enforcement agencies have been put on notice by the parliamentary committee.
Obviously, alcohol abuse and its consequences cannot be blamed on the ready access of cheap drinks alone.
There are deeper underlying social issues such as poverty that could be blamed for excessive drinking.
The committee might come away with a better understanding of the societal ill of alcohol abuse when it hears from stakeholders such churches, social workers and youth counsellors.
The opportunity provided at the discussions to be led by the committee will hopefully create a better understanding of such issues to then propose necessary action by government.
Alcohol-related violence is an undesirable result of the transition Papua New Guinea as a society is going through.