-Youth Minister reveals

One of the two major companies producing alcohol here will soon be introducing a “very active programme” to promote “sensible drinking,” according to Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony.

While the minister did not want to go into details and he did not wish to “steal the company’s thunder” he told Stabroek News that it would be in terms of advertisements as well as a programme, which would be introduced.

“It will be a lot of fun but it would drive home the message…,” he said.

This company, whose name the minister did not reveal, will be the first in Guyana to take such a bold step. In recent years there have been calls for companies to take such a direction.

According to the minister, the company is collaborating with an international company that has been the first in the world to have gone in this direction and has asked all its distributors follow that path.

The minister said part of the programme will be played out during the English cricket team’s tour of the Caribbean which would see two one-day games being played in Guyana. He said there will be “a set of initiatives” leading up to those games and during the actual games there will be more initiatives “to let people understand when they are drunk.”

The minister hopes that this move will have a snowball effect and other companies will follow suit.

In an interview with Stabroek News the minister said the companies and the major distributors of alcoholic products need to be involved at some level in addressing the issue of alcohol abuse.

“I think we need to work with them for them to understand that they are endangering people’s life… by them drinking themselves stupidly,” the minister said.

It was pointed out to the minister that the companies can argue that they do not tell persons to abuse alcohol, but he said companies are recognising that they need to encourage people to drink sensibly. “They need also, with their marketing help, to promote those messages that are now socially acceptable,” the minister commented.
Partnership
Over time some critics have argued that the alcohol producing companies should not be involved in sponsoring sport and other events that involve young people.

However, Anthony noted that the companies have a diverse range of products and when they are sponsoring events that involve youth they do not use their alcoholic products. He pointed out that when beverage companies sponsor the Mash children’s parade the ministry is very explicit that they cannot use any alcoholic products and this is done in any other activity that involves youth.

“To eliminate them completely… we are not able to do that because in many of these things we need resources to do them,” the minister noted.

He said the ministry has been working in partnership with the companies and sometimes the alcoholic beverages are promoted, but those events are not intended for children but for adults.

“While we would not stop everybody from drinking tomorrow [what we have to do] for those who want to drink, we must have messages for them to understand that there are consequences when they abuse alcohol.”

But the minister said the companies need to understand that there is a shift in society and they should come onboard as it is not “about killing your business but it is about us working for what is best for the overall society and I think once they understand that they would have to put policies in place…”
Glamorizing
According to Anthony, the “glamorizing of alcohol” needs to be looked at, since there are advertisements that target young people while glamorizing the products.

“We also need to get the advertisers and even the television stations to put out responsible advertising,” the minister said. And when asked how this could be done, the minister said they need to be involved and he mentioned what has happened over time with smoking where the dangers of smoking are now placed on the cigarette packets.

The minister suggested that such warnings can be placed on alcohol products and even during the advertisements. He added that while there may not be any research to support the theory that when persons start drinking young they are more likely to become addicted, as with smoking, the minister said this was more than likely the case.

He said to counter the glamorizing of alcohol “we need to get people to understand what they are getting into” as there are some persons who would start out drinking socially and then become chronic drinkers.

“Just like how you have ads promoting drinking maybe you should have ads to counter it so that when people look at it they would understand the consequences of drinking…” the minister suggested. While he does not have the figures, Anthony acknowledged that alcohol abuse places a great burden on several sectors of the country and not the least of them is the health sector.
New DUI law
He noted the number of accidents that are caused on our roadways by intoxicated drivers and praised the new law on drinking and driving that was passed in the National Assembly in July last year.

The Evidence and Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Amendment Bill 2008 is effectively the country’s first driving under the influence (DUI) law and will limit motorists to roughly a two-beer limit. If an accident occurs as a result of a motor vehicle on the road the police will be vested with the authority to order the drivers to submit to breathalyser tests either at the scene or in a nearby police station.

The minister said there is a need for persons to understand the consequences of drinking and while it will be a good thing if they can abstain from alcohol it is known that many persons would drink and they need to understand that the abuse of alcohol is not good.

The minister feels that there needs to be more vigilance in enforcing the law on selling alcohol to under-aged children, something that happens quite frequently in Guyana.

Regarding  how his ministry is involved in addressing this issue, Dr Anthony said it did not just address the issue of alcoholism but rather substance abuse in general and there were specific programmes in the ministry that target young people. In one of the programmes, which the minister described as  “institutional”, about 25 students every year are brought together and taught skills and  told of best practices while also being trained to become peer educators for HIV and AIDS.

But most importantly children are warned about the dangers of substance abuse and it is hoped that from the talks they receive they will go onto abstaining from such substances. There is also a six-month non-residential programme at Sophia, apart from the many youth camps the ministry organises countrywide during the August holidays at which talks on substance abuse are integral.

The minister noted that the message that abusing alcohol is dangerous will not make an impact overnight as anything that has to do with changing people’s behaviour is difficult but with constant education and getting  persons to set an example it can happen.
Influencing change

“It is a combination of efforts that would eventually bring the change… And it is not just the government’s responsibility, it is everybody’s responsibility and I think if we mutually reinforce the messages each other send, I think it would help to bring that change faster.”

Dr Anthony feels that the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) involved in the fight against HIV and AIDS should not just confine their efforts to that area, but should also broaden their messages to include alcoholism and other issues. He said religious organisations also have to play a large role in addressing the issue.

“If we get people to start thinking about it and talking about it then it would help to create change and we would also be able to educate a whole generation of young people.”