Alcohol use still remains prevalent here especially among men, with UNICEF’s recently released Guyana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (GMICS) 2019-2020 showing that 64 percent of men surveyed said they had at least one drink in the past month.
However, consuming alcohol at an early age was not found in the study since it stated that 21.5 percent of men and 6.5 per cent of women stated that they did not partake of any alcoholic drinks before attaining the age of 15.
Meanwhile, 32.9 percent of women reported that they never had an alcoholic drink while only 6.5 per cent admitted that they had one alcoholic drink before the age of 15. In addition, 28.3 percent indicated that they had a drink within the one-month timeframe leading up to the interview date.
The wealth index quintile revealed that among the wealthy, the alcohol consumption percentage was higher than that of the poor.
Regarding those men that had at least one alcoholic drink over the month period, there was no significant difference between men from rural and urban areas; the latter were .9 percent higher than the former in drinking patterns.
As regards tobacco use, the vast majority of women, some 97 percent, according to the survey, said they had not smoked a tobacco product over the past month compared to 78.5 percent of men.
Of the 8,285 households selected for the sample, 7,520 were found occupied. Of these, 7,072 (91 percent) were successfully interviewed for a household response rate of 94 percent.
In the interviewed households, 6,576 females (ages 15 to 49 years) were identified. Of these, 5,887 were successfully interviewed, yielding a response rate of 89.5 percent within the interviewed households.
The survey also sampled males (ages 15 to 49 years) but required only a sub-sample. All males (ages 15 to 49 years) were identified in every 5,894 households; 2,916 males (ages 15 to 49 years) were listed in the household questionnaires. Questionnaires were completed for 2,214 eligible males, which corresponds to a response rate of 71.5 percent within eligible interviewed households.
A similar 2014 survey of 6,000 households across the country had found that in the 15 to 49 age group, 87 percent of males had consumed alcohol at some point in their lives, compared with 60 percent of females.
The 2023 report clarified that when it referred to tobacco products, it was those products that were made entirely or partly of leaf tobacco as the raw material, which are intended to be smoked, sucked, chewed, or snuffed. All contain nicotine – a highly addictive psychoactive ingredient.
Tobacco use is one of the main risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, including cancer, lung disease, and cardiovascular disease. E-cigarettes are included in the other response category of smokeless tobacco product use.
On the other side, the consumption of alcohol also carries the risk of adverse health and social consequences related to its intoxicating, toxic, and dependence-producing properties, the report noted. In addition to the chronic diseases that may develop in those who drink large amounts of alcohol over a number of years, alcohol use is also associated with an increased risk of acute health conditions, such as injuries, including from traffic accidents.
Alcohol use also causes harm far beyond the physical and psychological health of the drinker. It harms the well-being and health of people around the drinker. An intoxicated person can harm others or put them at risk of traffic accidents or violent behavior, or negatively affect co-workers, relatives, friends or strangers. Thus, the impact of the harmful use of alcohol reaches deep into society.
In June this year, civil society activist Vidyaratha Kissoon had expressed concern that there was no campaign to reduce the burden of alcohol on the quality
life in Guyana, as it was a risk factor for non-communicable diseases, including not only physical and mental
illness, but exacerbating violence in a way that tobacco does not do.
“The PAHO/WHO and other organisations concerned about NCDs have indicated that tobacco and alcohol are both risk factors. Yet, in Guyana, the Presidential Commission on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Guyana seems not to have any voice about alcohol [the ‘related coverage on SN’s website shows similar stories about tobacco over the years but none about alcohol]. And while the economics and politics of alcohol probably influence how the health sector responds to alcohol (language matters – ‘harmful use’ versus ‘responsible use’ and ‘use’), for some reason the health authorities in 2023 Guyana do not have any aggressive campaigns to reduce the burden of alcohol on the quality life in Guyana,” Kissoon wrote.
The NCD alliance stated, “The alcohol industry is seeking to open new markets in low and middle-income countries while avoiding regulation through new marketing channels and policy interference.”
It was noted that with Guyana’s oil and gas economy, there has been an influx of alcohol products and marketers were not sensitive to the alcoholic problem their liquors could pose. One alcohol company has proudly advertised that it was targeting women and youth in an upcoming event, even as there are global concerns about the deaths and damage to health caused by alcohol.
