Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol Consumption
I.
Problem
Among many problems which are actual today for our society, the
problem of alcoholism is on one of the first places. The damage which this
trouble makes to separate people, to families, collectives and all society as a
whole is too great. Alcohol consumption in Kazakhstan is high as for soft
alcohol drinks as beer and wine as for strong alcohol drinks such as vodka and
whisky. [1]In Kazakhstan
consumption of alcohol drinks is increasing but middle degree of consumed
alcohol drinks is decreasing. Increased number of consumed soft alcohol drinks
is because of growing interest of underage population in alcohol; it could be
explained by availability, accessibility and advertisement, that provokes young
population to buy and drink this beverages, that is why population now have
alcoholics among children. [2]According to
official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan
Kairat Barmakov, because of unlimited realization of alcoholic production, each
third murder in the country is made under alcohol condition. Also drinking of
alcohol drinks in youth age could be reflected in children psychology. [3]Alcohol
consumption is strongly reflected on people’s reproductive system, one of the
main reasons of men’s infertility is alcohol. In a country with insufficient
demographic situation alcohol consumption problem should be observed in
different way, so that our future generation will be healthy productive and normally
up bring. Alcohol affects every organ in the body. The problem of alcohol
consumption has a place in many post soviet countries and the reason is the
“revolution” that happened in several month after Mr. Gorbachev became the head
of “CK”, this situation made lots of people unemployed or with any perception
of even tomorrow day. There are a lot of professionals who were working in
different areas of this big country, who then became alcohol addicted, which
then led to scarceness of qualified workers. Alcohol also is the result of an
increased monetary losses because of accidents connected with the use of
alcohol on a workplace, as well as reduction of work capacity because of
«pohmelniy sindrom», as example to take surgeon before operation, or flight,
train operation manager which could lead to real disaster. Treating of such a
disease as alcohol addiction is very important issue for whole nation and also
for Health Ministry of Kazakhstan. Not less serious problem is represented with
a female alcoholism, and that more and more women becoming alcohol addicted at
young age and it is especially terrible. It fatally affects not only on their
health, but also on health of posterity. Thus treatment of a female alcoholism
is interfaced to special complexities which are connected with features of
female physiology and psychology. Moreover [4]experts of
National Cancer Institute, have established, that alcohol is the reason for 70
% of cases of development of the most widespread type of a cancer of a breast.
184 thousand women of the post climacteric period took part in research during
seven years, which shows that those women who drinks a glass of alcohol per day
are risking develop cancer by 7%. [5]Those who used
to drink two glasses of alcohol increase the risk by 32%. [6]Drinking
alcohol increases the risk of cancers of the mouth, esophagus, pharynx, larynx,
and liver in men and women, and of breast cancer in women. In general, these
risks increase after about one daily drink for women and two daily drinks for
men. Another research experiment; it was found out that [7]children
of mothers abusing alcoholic drinks, cannot accept fast decisions and actively
operate in unfamiliar situation. Researchers from scientific research institute
of pharmacology of the Russian academy of medical sciences make female rats
drank from 1-th pregnancy till 20-th day. Then studied mental abilities of
their children when those became adults that how they made their decision. Treatment
of alcoholism nowadays is carried out by many experts, firms and clinics. But
not all distant methods and means of treatment of alcoholism can guarantee
result. The condition of public hospitals of this sphere in Kazakhstan could be
softly called as very bad, there is no rehabilitation centers where people
could get their treatment and period of relaxing, but they get “Narkodispanser”
with awful conditions, food, personnel and may be harmful and cheap drugs. As
for private hospitals it is Ok, tidy, light rooms, tasty food different types
of methodologies of treatment, but also it cost a lot, not for ordinary people.
The laws of republic of Kazakhstan protects children from alcohol consumption [8]“Article 37. Protection of the child
against harmful influence of alcoholic production and tobacco products
1.
Parents, other law representatives of the child, the state bodies, and also the
organizations which are carrying out functions of education and formation of
the child, are obliged to propagandize a healthy way of life and harm of
alcoholic production and tobacco products.
2.
Sale of alcoholic drinks, tobacco and tobacco products to child is forbidden.
5.
Realization of alcoholic production in children's establishments, the organizations
of formation and in territories adjoining to them in radius of hundred meters
is forbidden.”
II. Goals
A. Constrain
of selling of alcohol drinks to underage population.
B.
To reconsider the system of alcohol addicted treating hospitals.
Making
rules strict on selling alcohol drinks to young population our government would
provide bigger healthy proportion of children and teenagers, which then would
lead to less people with alcohol addiction, because in young age people are
more risking to be addicted. From other hand strict rules and punishment will
provide families with children with normal development, a lot of parents assume
that alcohol is one of the main enemy of their children on the way to become
person. Drinking could be called as stopper of brain development of youth
population because their brain is like sponge perceiving all the information. [9]The
social costs of underage drinking in US are conservatively estimated at $53
billion, including $19 billion from traffic crashes and $29 billion from
violent crime.
The
condition of hospitals “narkodispansers” as it was mentioned before is worse
that bad, from personal knowledge it could be explained as dark corridors,
untidy beds and rooms, angry personal, strict rules. Alcohol addiction does
not have any differences between people, social class gender or economical
layer this any people could be ill with this disease, but the conditions that
are in these hospitals are only for those who are under everything in this
life, only they could bear it. But for people who are trying to be treated, who
are somewhere upper than conditions in narkodispancer they would not even try
to do treating in this kind of organization.
III. Policy Proposals
1.
Strictly
ban on selling of alcohol drinks to underage population and
selling it in big numbers.
2.
Ban on drinking of alcohol drinks in public places
3.
Communication of experience with other countries.
Policy
option that could be used here is that government in this case Ministry of
internal affairs and Committee of National Defence should control sales person.
Increase awareness of underage drinking and its negative consequences; enhance
broad-based support for preventing and reducing underage drinking. No problem
can be solved until it has been recognized as a problem. Because the reason is the
nation and healthy future of whole population of Republic of Kazakhstan.
Broad-based support arises from public awareness - from knowledge of the latest
data that confirm the problem and from realistic proposals for its solution. [10]Under 16 years 6%, up to 80% under 24 year adolescents drink
alcohol in Kazakhstan. Preventing and reducing underage
drinking is a collective responsibility of government at all levels,
institutions and organizations in the private sector, and adult citizens,
particularly parents. Adults play a major role in facilitating underage
drinking as well as in preventing it. Controlling
all alcohol selling shops and supermarkets is very difficult so obligatory
video controlling system would provide security and secure alcohol and tobacco
selling. Alcohol consumption will also not decrease if there would be such a
great amount of sold drinks. Because people in Kazakhstan are buying drinks
without any measure; tens and tens of bottles and there is no regulation
concerning this fact. In the case when those changes would be appeared the
number of children who drink alcohol would greatly decrease and it only one
problem that would be solved. Another is health problem how many life’s of
these children would be saved, or avoid them to become disabled. Whole health
of nation would improve. Number of accidents also would decrease, because one
of the main factor of accident appearance is alcohol. Decreasing of number of
bottles sold would dramatically change a lot of social problems such as family,
collective and friends. Losses when the reason is alcohol would also fall down,
not speaking again about accidents. Working facilities of future generation as
well as problems of lack of professionals would improve.
What
are sources of increasing alcohol consumption? Advertisement, popularity and
accessibility – these three factors could be called as one of the main factors.
Drinking in public places is huge problem of our society and disrespectful
concerning all other people. US laws does not give permission to drink alcohol
in public places without covering it in special bag, In UAE it is forbidden to
drink in public places at all, moreover there is no alcohol drinks in free
trade in some of emirates like Dubai, Abu-Dhabi and Sharjah. In Kazakhstan and
maybe in all CIS countries it is natural that some one would seat on the bench
and drink even strong alcohol drinks such as vodka. This permission and
acceptance of society provokes and advertise alcohol among all levels of
society, gender and age.
Kazakhstan
has made progress in developing but a lot of things need to be done before
Kazakhstan could call it self as developed country. There are a lot of
countries that has well structured health care sector and they have good
results in this sphere, so government should use best examples of other
countries in health care system and to adopt them in a country, especially it
should be done in national “narkodispancers”, it was mentioned before that
Kazakhstan has undeveloped alcohol addiction treating institutions. What if
make this hospitals from dispanser to rehabilitation centres, like hotels with
green grass outside, light rooms and e.t.c. not dividing the rooms for free and
payable but make all this sphere free and accessible so that people of different
classes could afford themselves and treating in this centres, make the rate of
confidentiality so that treating of people would not known to everyone who
wants to get any information. Only changing this situation this sphere of
healthcare could raise its authority.
IV
Policy Analysis
Ban on selling alcohol to
underage and selling it in big numbers would constantly constrain of selling of
alcohol drinks to underage population. This tool is most appropriate in solving
the problem of alcohol consumption in Kazakhstan. Society would get sharp
decrease of alcohol consumer among underage population, because the number is
not good for country with such high level of growing GDP. Families with
children who consume alcohol would be thankful for this law because it is real
disaster for parents. Number of crimes would decrease because most part of
committed crimes are made in condition of alcoholic intoxication. Number of
alcoholics would radically decrease, because the number of sold alcohol to
during one deal would be controlled, so that it would be impossible to buy big
number of drinks during one purchase. Number of emergency cases because of
alcohol, would not be such many as now [11]Abusing alcohol is the
reason of half of references for emergency medical aid in Britain. In
Kazakhstan statistics is not positive [12]1909 cases of death
because of alcohol drinks and [13]2,2 million people dies
in the world from the same reason, from [14]15-30 % of injuries on
production occurs in the reason of alcohol. Weaknesses of policy are society
which is not concerned in whole with the problem, if child would ask adult to
buy cigarettes or alcohol there are not so much people who would refuse, or if
someone want to buy a big number of bottles of alcohol he would ask someone in
the shop to buy and of course nobody would refuse. Placing video cameras for
small shps is very
[1] Trend
snizheniya gradusa, Retrieved February 9,
from #"#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title="">[2] Anatoliy Vaiskopf, Kazakhtsan vvedet monopoliu na alkogol
Retrieved April 16, 2008 from #"#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title="">[3] Reproductivnoe
zdorov’e retrieved February 9, from #"#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title="">[4] Daily Telegraph
[5] Ibid
[6] National Cancer
Institute Retrieved
April 16, 2008 from #"#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" title="">[7] Pregnant women should listen to rats Retrieved April 16, 2008
from #"#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" title="">[8] The of Republic of Kazakhstan Retrieved April
16, 2008 from #"#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" title="">[9] Pacific Institute for
Research and Evaluation, 1999
[10] Kimep L-drive Natalia Danilovich folder Lecture week 12
[11] Tobacco and Alcohol are more dangerous than Marihuana and
Ecstasy Retrieved April 19, 2008 from #"#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" title="">[12] Uliya
Semykina, Hostages of Bakhus, Retrieved April 19, 2008 from #"#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13" title="">[13] Nadezhda Uzunova, Business is concerned
about increasing alcoholism and drug abuse in the offices Retrieved April 20,
2008 from #"#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14" title="">[14] Ibid