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| An unidentified youth in Kalingalinga drinking tujilijili. |
FOR those that drink beer, Zambia has an abundance of taverns and bars, liquor stores and makeshift liquor stores.
There are numerous points of sale both legal and illegal, scattered everywhere in major cities and the remotest parts of the country.
Despite by-laws being set by local authorities to regulate the supply and sale of alcohol, opening and closure times of points of sale, nothing seems to work out.
Everyday, taverns, bars and makeshift liquor-selling points are full to capacity with people watching football games, listening to music, or just conversating with friends while drinking beer and other alcoholic substances.
Usually, the trend brings about the question: ‘Is Zambia in an alcoholic crisis?’.
Bishop John Mambo answers the question in the affirmative.
“Yes, Zambia is in a crisis. We cannot have beers and other unclassified alcoholic substances sold everywhere, in markets, at bus stations, supermarkets without proper regulations in a Christian nation,” Bishop Mambo says.
For Bishop Mambo, alcohol is not only a causal factor in many diseases, but also a precursor to injury and violence.
Its negative impacts have spread throughout to various communities as evidenced from the influencing levels and patterns of alcohol consumption country wide.
“We have statistics of road traffic accidents every year and all mainly point out to alcohol being the causal factor. A look at the cases of domestic violence, defilement, rape assaults most of them land at alcohol as the main influencer. What hurts me the most is that currently, the biggest number of alcohol consumers across the country are youths,” Bishop Mambo says.
Bishop Mambo says the local authority, the Church and every citizen should up their game and ensure that possible solutions to this challenge are found urgently.
A Lusaka teacher Alinani Jere says alcohol consumption in the country is out of control.
“I am a teacher and many times I visit these shopping malls especially Manda Hill and Levy over the weekends, what I find is disheartening.
Pupils have turned these places into dens for illicit activities characterised by unregulated intake of alcohol. Many of these pupils carry alcohol in their bags,” Mr Jere says.
But how much alcohol is safe to drink? It is a question scientists have been trying to get to the bottom of for centuries, and in Zambia there is no data exploring the safe quantity of alcohol.
While many people would agree that binge drinking in Zambia is deplorable and turns towns and cities into ugly and threatening places at night, the unavailability of statistics to show to what extent Zambians drink beer is unhelpful.
The recent Global status report on alcohol and health published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) does not place Zambia among the ten biggest alcohol drinking nations in Africa.
The report places Nigeria in the first position with Uganda being second, Kenya as the third, Rwanda is in the fourth position.
The rest are Namibia in the fifth position, Burundi is sixth followed by South Africa, with Gabon holding the eighth positions, Botswana is ninth and Tanzania is tenth.
Despite the absence of statistics, binging has always been a topic of big debate among Zambians. Those that trade in alcohol have their defence.
Jossy Kaulung’ombe of Lusaka’s Kalingalinga township says alcohol consumption is a choice.
“We do not force people to buy alcohol, they come on their own, and because we are in business, we sell it to them. We are not as responsible for alcholism as people think. As traders, we also take into consideration the caution regarding sale of beer to underaged. There is a big binge-drinking culture among the youth in the country,” Ms Kaulung’ombe says.
And a bar reveller Gift Chikumbi of Lusaka’s Chelston says in Zambia, binge drinking is glorified and the focus is not on drinking in moderation or for enjoyment.
“We should look at why the drinking habits are getting worse. The reason is simple, because of poverty levels, many people are depressed and they take alcohol as a relief. I am probably not a true representative of the Zambian drinking population as I am a light drinker, I drink maybe once a week on a Saturday,” Mr Chikumbi says.
Ministry of Health spokesperson Kennedy Malama says his ministry is concerned about the increase in mental cases relating to alcohol abuse.
“We have noticed with regret the increased number of ill health cases that come as a result of alcohol abuse. That is why we will next month (October) open up part of the Chainama Hills College Hospital to handle cases relating to alcohol abuse,” Dr Malama says.
Having laws and regulations is only one part of alcohol policies; enforcing those laws effectively is a prerequisite for a comprehensive alcohol policy.
The question of enforcement is thus crucial. Severally, the local authorities countrywide have fought running battles with beer traders and all to no avail.
It only takes a day or two before alcohol traders get back to their business despite the visible caution that excessive alcohol consumption is very harmful to one’s health.
So for now, keep those bottles down and you will stay around a lot longer. PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON OCTOBER 1, 2017. LINK: https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/zambias-alcohol-intake-out-of-control/
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