President David Granger says it is evident that some families have been affected by the abuse of alcohol or other substances although he is unaware of how widespread the problem is.
Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence recently came in for criticism after a letter she wrote to the Central Housing and Planning Authority began circulating on social media.
In the letter, whose subject line reads “regulating the sale and consumption of alcohol,” the minister said that no data existed “to show that there is a correlation between alcohol consumption and public health in Guyana” and advised that the University of Guyana be approached to “initiate a study” which would help in a review of the existing policy.
Asked by Stabroek News to clarify her statement, Lawrence had said that she had been asked for information and said that she cannot pronounce “unless I have something to give me directive and I have been advised by my officers that there is no evidence within the ministry that will be able to give such guidance.”
Asked if she were willing through her ministry to commission such a study so that the necessary evidence could be sourced, Lawrence said, “I did say to the institution that they should use the University for Guyana and I thought that with the university on break that it would’ve been an ideal thing for the students to go out and do a study.”
When President Granger was asked if he shared the view that no evidence exists to show the referenced correlations, he said, “I think substance abuse is a problem that affects certain families. I cannot say that it is widespread. It is evident to me that some families have been affected by alcohol abuse or abuse of other substances and when this occurs there are likely to be problems of domestic abuse and domestic violence. I have seen cases of friends attending drinking sprees and attacking each other.”
In the wake of a doubling of drunk driving cases in 2015, President Granger had assured Stabroek News last year that his government was very concerned about excessive drinking and the effects it was having on the country.
He had described alcohol abuse as “one of two evils” that the country has to contain and assured that, over time, measures will be put in place to deal with it.
Police statistics had shown that the drunk driving cases taken to court in 2015 were more than double those of 2014. Between January 1 and November 30, 2015, the Traffic Department had been able to place 2,218 persons before the courts for driving under the influence (DUI) as compared to the 902 cases for the same period in the previous year.
Alcohol abuse has been linked to road deaths, crimes, issues in relation to personal health and the health care system, depression, and suicide, while the family, finances and the economy are also impacted.
Granger had pointed out that even if a person does not get involved in vehicular accidents, alcohol abuse can have harmful effects on the body.
“It is a form of poison and as a young journalist myself, I have seen preserved livers, people actually develop cirrhosis of the liver and other ailments as a result of alcoholism,” he had said.
Minister of Public Health Dr George Norton had said that there is no need to make a special effort to see the harm alcohol abuse is causing in Guyana.
“We just have to look at our road accidents and we will see the harmful effects of alcohol… road deaths are one of the most blatant harmful effects. It [alcohol] will cause violence, both interpersonal and domestic violence, and would include injuries not only from traffic accidents but also in the workplace, emotional distress and we know this can lead to depression and which results in the main cause of suicide and economic instability where persons find themselves in more financial difficulties because of the purchase of alcohol,” he had said. “In the interest of public health, the ministry can control access to alcohol through a policy, which will include the government monopolisation of the business, limiting the hours and days for the sale of alcohol and enforcement of the minimum purchasing age,” he had added.
