First a question. Is smoking an individual habit? Certainly, but the government has intervened to discourage it. Cigarettes have not been banned, but smoking in public is an offence. Also pictorial warnings on cigarette packets are aimed at discouraging smokers by reminding them of the health problems that the habit induces. Advertising is also banned.
Another question. Is alcohol consumption an individual habit? Certainly. But what is the State government doing about it? Nothing. Instead it has granted licences to open over 300 bars in the State, at the rate of 100 a year. As a result Goa now has 7,328 bars and this number will increase because no one wants to even debate the dangers of consuming alcohol.
Studies conducted by concerned doctors at the Goa Medical College show that nearly 45 per cent of the 14.5 lakh population is alcohol dependent. Of this, 28 per cent are addicts and the frightening piece of news is that youth and women are quickly joining the band of addicts.
Those who watch television channels would have noticed that in addition to the message, smoking is injurious to health, channels also run a message to indicate that alcohol is also injurious to health. What is our government’s view on the matter? Some two weeks back the Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza quite helplessly told a crowd that there are more bars in Goa than pharmacies and added that it was up to the individual to curb his desire to imbibe alcohol.
So, does the State have a role in intervening in alcohol consumption? If the government has a role in granting licences it cannot ignore its responsibilities. A ban on alcohol is not the answer. Bans are not enforceable in the long run and if there is demand there will always be supply. On the other hand freely issuing bar licences is not the answer either.
Kerala has a partial ban on alcohol. The pernicious brew is now available only in government run outlets and five-star hotels. No study has been undertaken to ascertain if the ban is working or not, but the new government is seriously thinking of reversing it. Drinking after all is good for the government coffers. The experience, the world over is that a ban will only give rise to illegal manufacture and bootlegging.
No one is asking for a ban on alcohol, but we do question the motive of the government in making liquor cheap enough to induce binge drinking. Is it right for the government to grant licences to new bars? If there can be a cap on the number of casinos, why can’t there be a cap on the number of bars?
The larger problem is that the State government is not willing to recognize that Goa has a serious drinking problem. The data gathered by the Goa Medical College and the experience of doctors working with alcoholics has been swept under the carpet by the BJP government. Meanwhile the number of alcoholics is increasing with youth and women joining the band of drinkers.
What the government has to first accept is that alcohol consumption is injurious to health. Secondly, it has to accept that Goa has a problem. Only then can it think of creating a framework or policy to reduce consumption of alcohol. The government can no longer bury its head in the sand like an ostrich and pretend that the problem does not exist. It must act, and act now.
