|
|
 |
| Sunday, 5 May 2002 |
 |
|
 |
News |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Undergrads taking to booze on the rise by E.Weerapperuma It has been observed that 18 per cent of the university student population had become victims of the drinking culture,said Prof. Nandasena Ratnapala Dean of the Faculty of Sociology, Sri Jayawardenapura University. speaking as chief guest at the launch of the book titled "Illicit Alcohol Drinking Culture"by Dr. Ranil Abeysinghe, the Head of the Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine. The event was held at the Galle Face Hotel, Colombo on Friday. The young men of the day do not smoke now but were moving towards consuming alcohol and a research carried out by Dr. Abeysinghe would help to educate the public. He further said that women undergraduates at the universities were not led to taking liquor or smoking. But those involved in these trades try to woo them. He said that there was a time where he was discouraged and laughed at by others when he ventured into some of these areas as a sociologist." But it is heartening to note that the universities undertake research in these fields. Prof. Kapila Goonasekera, Vice Chancellor of the Peradeniya University said. Sri Lanka is rated the second highest in consumption of liquor, "Officially Sri Lanka has one of the highest liquor consumption in the world. Hidden behind these official figures are the numerous `kasippu' drinkers, who outnumber the liquor consumers by 20 to 1", he said " That population has become the subject matter of researchers", he added. The book is fascinating in that it is the view from the inside, a view that is not too often available to those who study social issues armed with questionnaires and computers. Prof. Goonasekera said that alcohol was a taboo subject and was not discussed openly in traditional societies like in Sri Lanka. The discussion about alcohol was moralistic in tone and accusatory in nature. As a result it remained a subject that was confined to parties and bars, he observed. While congratulating Dr. Abeysinghe and his team for the work done, he pointed out that the team had adopted a unique method of identifying and describing the patterns of illicit alcohol in the country that is participatory observations". He also told the audience that Dr. Abeysinghe who was engaged in community work to study suicides in Sri Lanka, had found 60 per cent of male suicides were due to heavy dependence on alcohol and much of which was on illicit alcohol `Kassipu'. "This indeed was a unique situation where a large number of males in their prime either die or become incapacitated due to dependence on illicit alcohol", he added. Dr. Ranil Abeysinghe, the author of the book, in his presentation said that alcohol may be characterised as a pacifier, divider and mischief-maker."This is common to all communities, be it consumers, researchers or professionals", he said. He also said that "alcohol is relaxant to some providing pleasure and making even the valiant take away `performance'. It is much more than physiological symptoms and functions of a red nose, sleep and urine. It is the cause of much morbidity and mortality, a most important cause of death. It is same alcohol that causes so much pleasure and misery", he pointed out. This schizophrenic effect of alcohol on consumers has an equivalent -effect even as researchers into alcohol related issues, who often disagree at a fundamental level in many areas."There are those who claim that social drinking is dangerous while others maintain that social drinking has many psychological and physical benefits. There are those who find that alcohol advertising is harmful while others find it a- non-issue.This dichotomy extends to professionals who work with people affected by alcohol as well, be it victims of accidents, patients with cirrhosis or patients suffering from alcohol dependence", he said. "Thus we have a situation of cardiologists giving open approval to social drinking, while those who deal with alcohol dependence such as psychiatrists refusing to consider any form of drinking as safe. This dichotomy exists because of the insularity of the profession", he declared. Referring to government policies on this issue, Dr.Abeysinghe said that it had been " ambivalent and schizophrenic".Such ambivalent policies have added to the confusion about the alcohol scene in the country, he said. "Sri Lanka has never had an alcohol policy. The only `policy' related to alcohol consumption was to raise the excise taxes whenever the government needed additional capital to bridge the budget deficiencies or finance military expenditure", he told the audience. "It is my contention that the real reasons for such ambivalent and self defeating dealings have more to do with our preconceptions,myth and popular fallacies that lie in the realm of emotions rather than with actual facts of alcohol use and abuse". These preconceptions and fallacies are a result of religious, cultural and social attitudes that are reinforced to some extent by the actual exposure to alcohol related situations. Thus all religions sanction against drinking and any religious person would feel obliged by his religious beliefs to oppose drinking. Dr. Abeysinghe also said that a person who was exposed to conflicts at home, as a result of a fathers's drinking would become anti-alcohol, while housewives who experience wife-battering at the hands of their husbands transformed violent, sub-human-creatures would give prohibition explicit support". Vijitha Yapa, Managing Director of the Vijitha Yapa publication introduced the author and his book. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
