The Alcohol and Drug Information Centre has presented a proposal to the presidential candidates regarding alcohol, tobacco control, and drug control.
The distribution of drugs has led to severe consequences, particularly for children and young people.
As a result, the issue of drugs has garnered significant attention in society, and people are curious about the political intervention in this regard.
The society is particularly focused on the 12 proposals put forth by the Alcohol and Drug Information Centre.
The terrible social condition created by drugs
According to the latest survey reports, nearly 100 people die prematurely every day due to the use of cigarettes and alcohol.
In Sri Lanka, 8 out of 10 preventable deaths are caused by non-communicable diseases, with smoking and alcohol use accounting for 2 out of 4 of the main factors contributing to these diseases.
This information has been confirmed by the Ministry of Health. It is a known fact that the people of Sri Lanka collectively spend around 1.21 billion rupees per day on smoking and alcohol consumption.
Expenditure more than income
It is apparent that revenue from the consumption of cigarettes and alcohol is no longer beneficial for the country.
In 2022, 165 billion rupees were collected as excise tax, but the country incurred a cost of 237 billion rupees due to the impact of alcohol on health and the economy.
Similarly, in 2016, despite the government collecting 88 billion rupees as cigarette tax, it has been revealed that the health and economic costs caused by cigarette usage amounted to 214 billion rupees.
The challenge facing the new president
In the context of the upcoming presidential election to elect the 9th Executive President of the country, the topic of drugs has become an important issue.
On September 21, each presidential candidate will present their policy statement. There has been a significant public discussion about the need for scientifically-driven policies to reduce the use of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs for the future development of the country.
The Alcohol and Drug Information Centre plans to send a special proposal to the presidential candidates in order to address this issue.
The matters included in the proposal can be stated as follows
01. Implementation of a scientific tax formula in which excise duty increases every year in line with inflation and economic growth.
02. To prepare a systematic tax collection system to recover the taxes already owed to the government by the tobacco and alcohol companies and to avoid such a situation in the future.
03. Implementation of currently adopted laws and policies to reduce the use and promotion of alcohol and tobacco as well as prompt adoption of proposed amendments to the National Tobacco and Alcohol Authority Act.
Implementation of the amendment to prohibit the sale of cigarettes as one or two cigarettes.
Implementation of the amendment prohibiting the maintenance of a place selling cigarettes and alcohol within 100 meters of an educational institution or a religious place.
Implementation of the amendment to make all public places smoke-free and alcohol-free zones and promoting all kinds of songs, albums, movies, television, YouTube, Facebook, video chats etc.
that encourage the use of cigarettes, alcohol and other drugs through all media including the Internet. It is also proposed to implement the amendment for prevention.
Another proposal includes amendments to ban the sale of all types of cigarettes, tobacco-related products, alcohol and other drugs over the Internet.
It has been suggested that the offences related to the National Tobacco and Alcohol Authority Act should be made into arrestable offences and steps should be taken to increase the fines and punishment period for those offences.
It is proposed under the second section of the proposal to enforce the law related to the sale of smokeless tobacco related products and illegal alcohol and other drugs prohibited by law, and to prevent the patronage of tobacco and alcohol companies.
It also includes measures to stop direct and indirect advertising related to the sale of tobacco products through the main media and social media.
04. Non-issuance of temporary liquor licences and implementation of the system of issuing liquor licences under the guise of tourism industry.
05. Implementation of the national policy on alcohol control approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in 2016.
06. Enforcement of the law to control illegal alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs. Acting to strengthen the institutions for that.
07. A national level prevention program to discourage the use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs, aimed at children and young people, with the aim of preventing them before they become habituated.enforcement.
08. To prepare and implement counselling, treatment and other services and necessary programs to get rid of those who are addicted to alcohol and to further expand and implement the 1948 telephone counselling service that can get help to get rid of smoking and alcohol.
09. Country has signed the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), an international agreement for tobacco control, and its goals are to be completed according to a specific time frame.
10. Introducing a system of obtaining a licence for the sale of cigarettes and tobacco-related products and prohibiting the sale of cigarettes and tobacco-related products without a licence.
11. Prevent interference by the tobacco and alcohol industries to weaken existing policies and prevent new policies from being introduced.
12. To save the country from the trap of legalising cannabis, to educate people about the harms of cannabis use and to pass and enforce new laws to deal with various forms of media that promote the use of cannabis.
The Alcohol and Drug Information Centre says that these recommendations have been prepared with the aim of strengthening the mechanism to reduce the drug problem in Sri Lanka and ensure the well-being of the citizens of our country.
It is also the hope of the centre that the presidential candidates will take steps to go among the people by including their agreement to these recommendations and including it in their manifesto.
The Alcohol and Drug Information Centre further emphasises that it is the responsibility of the future president to create healthy freedom and environment for Sri Lankans to live happily.
