Govt urged to tackle alcohol abuse
PENAMPANG: A doctor, a former hardcore alcoholic, has called on the government to put more emphasis on curbing the risk of alcohol abuse to reduce alcoholics in the country.
Sabah Mercy Malaysia’s Intervention Group for Alcohol Misuse chairman Datuk Dr Jaswant Singh said the Health Ministry should highlight the effects of excessive alcohol consumption through advertisements.
“We can see advertisements for diabetes and other things but there should also be advertisements on alcohol misuse as it is a major problem in our society.
“The Health Ministry has hospitals and health clinics in every district and kampung, so we should train (hospital and clinic) staff to pass the message down (to the people),” he said at the Alcohol Harm Awareness Workshop here, yesterday.
Dr Jaswant, a consultant clinical oncologist at the Sabah Medical Centre, said in Sabah, consuming alcohol was more prevalent and common, especially throughout the Kaamatan Festival, which runs from May 1 to 31.
He said it was important to send out a message on the effects of alcohol during the festive season to reduce excessive consumption.
According to the National Health Morbidity Survey in 2011, Sabah is ranked the third state with the highest alcohol consumption. Dr Jaswant, believed Sabah and Sarawak could rank first if no effort was made to tackle alcoholism.
Dr Jaswant also runs an Alcoholics Anonymous programme at his home for hardcore alcoholics, noting that many of those who turned up were young and professionals, as well as prominent individuals.