REGULATION OF BEER DRINKING COMES AS YOUNG PEOPLE ABUSE ALCOHOL WITH IMPUNITY

IBy EDWARD MWANGO

T is that time of the moment again, another holiday, meaning merrymaking among cross sections of society.

Despite the Easter Holiday being holy, to most individuals both young and old, it is the opposite and the one think that clicks in their minds is partying. The one significant thing on their holiday agenda is at least to take one or two bottles of beer or wine.

Indeed as we commemorate Easter, alcohol abuse is highly likely to be eminent among Zambians especially youthful ones who often become excited in such moments while other young people are driven by mob psychology or peer pressure.

Now with revelation by Religious Affairs and Guidance Minister, Godfridah Sumaili that Government will soon introduce an Alcohol Bill to parliament as a control measure against the increased levels of alcohol consumption in the country, perhaps the country will see a decline in the abuse of the alcoholic beverages.

Rev Sumaili told ZANIS recently that once enacted, the Bill would regulate alcohol consumption in the country especially by the youths.

Rev Sumaili said Government was greatly concerned about the abuse of alcohol by young people in Zambia saying alcohol was unproductive and not only does it devastate homes but negatively retards national development.

“Excessive beer drinking among youths in the country has reached is alarming hence coming up with a piece of legislation to regulate drinking, “

“Alcohol abuse is unproductive at home and the nation at large. Therefore, Government is contemplating coming up with a legislation to regulate this vice among youths,” Reverend Sumaili said.

And in her message during this Esther Holiday, Rev Sumaili requesting the church to rise to the occasion and bring the lost sheep to Christ through exhibiting good values and morals as opposed to the young people drinking irresponsibly.

The move to regulate beer drinking comes after President Edgar Lungu‘s recent call during his address to the nation on the need to promote values and morals by all well-meaning Zambians.

In his national address President Lungu expressed his concern at the high levels of alcohol and substance abuse among young people which he said had contributed to moral decay.

President Lungu however revealed that his government was making steady progress in strengthening the enforcement of the relevant laws and regulations so as to curb alcohol and substance abuse.

President Lungu told the house that government had intensified the implementation of youth empowerment programmes aimed at equipping young people with skills, equipment and startup capital for income generating activities.

He also disclosed that last year 2,667 youth street vendors were empowered with loans while an additional 1,000 youths were empowered with motorised cargo tricycles.

In 2015 Government banned the manufacturing and sale of strong liquor sachets commonly known as Tujilijili.

The then Local Government Minister Nkandu Luo announced that government had revoked licenses for manufacturers and importers of the liquor sachets.

The decision was arrived at after wide consultations and formulation of legislation to ban the sachets.

Following the ban any person that would be found guilty of manufacturing or selling the banned sachets would be fined or imprisoned for two years in default.

The ban was effected after the cheap sachets were mostly abused by pupils and other young people.

And last year, Commissioner of the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) Alita Mbahwe noted that despite recording an increased number of drug crimes in the country, DEC was concerned about the high number of children involved in alcohol and substance abuse.

She said the Commission does not derive pleasure in arresting child suspects and advised parents and guardians to always ensure that their young ones stayed away from alcohol and drug abuse.

She made the remarks in Serenje where she went to check on the operations of the '(& office

in the district.

However alcohol abuse is also rife among elderly people in the country.

For instance in 2014 Zambian women were reportedly the hardest drinkers in the world.

According to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report published in the Washington Post, no nation has harder-drinking women in the world than Zambia.

“According to data compiled by the World Health Organization, no nation has harder-drinking women than Zambia, where 41 percent binge drink at least once a week.

“But, as you can see from the charts below, Zambia isn’t the only country that’s deep in its cups,” the report read.

Research findings have proved that alcohol – with the clear exception of some Muslim countries — spans class, culture and profession, but that every country had their own differences.

“Binge drinking has become less frequent, and the proportion of youth who don’t drink alcohol at all has risen sharply,” explained lead researcher Jonathan Shepherd.

“For people most prone to involvement in violence … falls in disposable income are probably an important factor,” he said.

Over the past year, the number of people seriously hurt by violence plunged 12 per cent to roughly 235,000 cases.

Though the decrease mirrors trends across the Western world, a new study this week -Rising-alcohol-prices-behinddrop-in-violence.aspx” said the real reason may be booze or the lack of it.

However alcohol has got side effects on the human body as well.

According to an SES UNIHEALTH report Just one sip of alcohol has an affect on your body, it is absorbed through your bloodstream and distributed throughout your body. A tiny amount of alcohol remains in your body for about 2 hours.

“You absorb alcohol a lot slower if you eat fatty foods. However, if you drink more than your body can handle, you’ll get drunk. The rate at which your body metabolizes alcohol depends on your weight, height and many other factors.”

“Many people enjoy the occasional drink without any problems, but binge drinking or drinking heavily over long periods of time can have extremely serious consequences. Here are a few things that can happen to your body when you drink more than you can handle.” The report reads in part.

BRAIN DAMAGE Brain-scan-2Contrary to popular belief, alcohol does not kill brain cells, but it does alter the levels of neurotransmitters that control your mood, perception and behaviour. This is one of the reasons some people experience blackouts, memory loss and anxiety. Long-term drinking can result in permanent brain damage, serious mental health problems and alcohol dependence. Young people are particularly vulnerable because their brains are still developing. People who have been drinking large amounts of alcohol for long periods of time run the risk of developing serious and persistent changes in the brain. Damage may be a result of the direct effects of alcohol on the brain or may result indirectly, from a poor general health status or from severe liver disease.

YOUR SKIN

Beer goggles can be amazing in the moment, but alcohol actually messes with you face by dilating your blood vessels which makes them prone to breakage. This causes the skin to look red and blotchy, and sometimes a bloated puffy face. BONE AND MUSCLE Going to the gym every day, is a great thing to do for your body, but if you head off to a bar afterwards, you will never build muscle properly. Alcohol messes with you hormonal and inflammatory responses to exercise, maNing it difficult for your body to repair damaged proteins and build new ones, which ruins you chances of getting ripped.

Alcohol interferes with the body’s ability to absorb calcium. As a result, your bones become weak and thin, and makes it harder from your body to produce new bone. Heart and Circulation Alcoholic in some cases, one night of heavy drinking can cause irreparable damage to your heart. However, women are at more risk of heart damage than men. While in some cases people can drink in moderate amounts that land up protecting the heart due to the blood vessel relaxing polyphenols that alcohol contains or by raising your levels of HDL (Good cholester- ol). Others are not as lucky and can raise the risN of atrial fibrillation by 17%, which quadruples your risk of having a stroke and triples your risk of heart failure. Binge drinking and drinking heavily over longer periods can cause the heart to beat irregularly (arrhythmia) and has been linked to cases of sudden death.

Alcohol can cause high blood pressure (hypertension), which increases the risk of heart attack, stroke developing some types of dementia

Circulatory system complications include:

Poisoning of the heart muscle cells (cardiomyopathy)

Irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia)

High blood pressure Stroke

Heart attack

Heart failure Digestive System

Alcohol can have devastating effects on your digestive system, from your mouth all the way to your colon. Harmful toxins and bacteria leak from your digestive system into your bloodstream, causing stomach ulcers, inflammation of the stomach lining, internal bleeding and even cancer. Alcohol can cause the stomach to become inflamed, which can prevent food from being absorbed and increase the risk of cancer.

Alcohol abuse can damage the salivary glands and irritate the mouth and tongue, leading to tooth decay, gum disease and even tooth loss. Excessive drinking can cause ulcers in the esophagus, acid reflu[ and heartburn.

Alcohol makes it a lot harder for your digestive tract to absorb nutrients, vitamins or control bacteria. Alcoholics often suffer from malnutrition and run the risk of mouth, throat and esophagus cancer.

SEXUAL HEALTH MEN

Having as few as five drinNs a week will decrease your sperm count. While you might find that a romantic evening with the lady is better enjoyed with a glass of wine in hand, anything more than that could wreck your performance in the bedroom.

Here is a list of the damage alcohol can cause in a man: Infertility

Low Desire

Lowered Libido/sex drive Erectile Dysfunction Premature Ejaculation

Binge drinking also makes you lose your inhibition and affects your judgement. This could mean that you are less likely to use a condom, which increases your risk of getting a sexually transmitted disease such as HIV, Hepatitis or chlamydia.

WOMEN

Excessive drinking can cause a woman to stop menstruating and become infertile. The risk of breast cancer rises with the use of alcohol.

Drinking alcohol while pregnant can be seriously damaging to the development of the unborn baby. It can also increase a woman’s risk of miscarriage, premature delivery and still birth. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) can cause the child to have physical abnormalities, learning difficulties and emotional issues that will last throughout their lives.

LIVER

Drinking an excessive amounts of alcohol initially causes fat deposits to develop on the liver. The continuation of such excessive drinking causes the liver to become inflamed, causing alcoholic hepatitis, which can result in liver failure and death. Excessive alcohol consumption can scar and damage the liver, resulting in liver cirrhosis and increased risk of liver cancer.

IMMUNE SYSTEM

Any time an immune system is compromised, the body becomes vulnerable to any and all illness. However, an immune system weakened by alcohol abuse has an even harder time fighting off viruses, germs and all types of illnesses. Heavy drinkers are more likely to get pneumonia or tuberculosis than the general population. With the above glaring statistics and findings it is hoped that young people and others in the habit of abusing alcohol will take a leaf ahead of Zambia moving on strides to regulate beer drinking.

The then Local Government Minister Nkandu Luo announced that government had revoked licenses for manufacturers and importers of the liquor sachets.