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by Kushani Ratnayake

Liquor by any name smells the same. It's sweet to some but foul to others. People who drink will keep on enjoying the bottle till death do them part. They do not realise the effects alcohol has on their behaviour nor the dire consequences it has for their lives and the ones they love.

Both licensed and illicit liquor are having diastrous effects on this country as if in competition with each other as to which could kill more. Authorities from all fields such as education, health and religion have preached messages about the woes of liquor to no avail but this addiction continues unabated.

This is a serious national menace if not a massive health problem. Alcohol has contributed to many problems of the country such as the increasing crime rate, bribery, corruption and violence. Alcohol in itself is an unhealthy concoction; when it is further adulterated by various brews, it becomes deadly.

Not only men but some women too consume alcohol these days. "We cannot say it is an addiction. They are mentally addicted to it not physically. These women take it as a symbol of the social class," says the Program Director of the Alcohol and Drug Information Centre Kumari Welagedara.

Promotional strategies target women, through this they are trying to grab the attention of the younger generation as well as the working class, especially young women from the Free Trade Zone. The Western influence of women drinking has been adopted as a culture by some in the city, therefore it has become a part of their lifestyle to take a sip occasionally. It has become quite a normal occurrence for them to consume alcohol. "If you visit a bar or a night club you will see lots of women drinkers, majority of them consume beer", she said.

In the plantation sector, one finds women consuming liquor, not only beer but also arrack and kassippu. Most of these women are uneducated and their only pleasure is to consume alcohol. Many promoters of beer and other liquor use women to promote their product. It is mainly due to the activities that women in the plantation sector consume liquor.

Not only in the plantation sector but also working women in the Free Trade Zones consume alcohol, mainly beer. "Most of the young women are migrants from villages and do not have any experience in the city. With this lack of experience and education they get addicted to alcohol very easily, and most of the companies they work for provide free beer for company outings. This is the first step in alcohol addiction. Eventually they get used to this. This is a pitiful situation, their vulnerability is being used by these promoters", she said.

These promotional strategies or brand promoters target the naive and vulnerable groups and companies make use of them. "Photographs go a along way, today almost every photograph is related to liquor. One can see a woman, either holding a bottle or consuming liquor. These pictures create wrong images in the mind and make the gullible consume liquor", she said. "Most of these pictures give the wrong impression of women and liberation, they try to create the image of alcohol bringing satisfaction".

Though beer contains a low percentage of alcohol it can create a whirling feeling.

"Having a low percentage of alcohol does not mean one can consume beer, nonetheless it effects the liver", she said. "Women consuming liquor is still taken as a social stigma in our country therefore we have the ability of reducing women alcohol consumers", she said.

One can gain only temporary satisfaction from liquor. It will seemingly clear away all troubles from the mind but will create more complicated problems, both mentally and physically. The crime rate and homicides in particular are rising rapidly. Every such murder or crime is closely or distantly connected with the consumption of liquor.

Women should be more aware of this problem and should have the ability to stand up to it. By swallowing a message from an advertisement or any kind of promotion, they should not allow themselves to experience it.

Consuming liquor is bad for both men and women. Knowing this, one should be more careful in even taking a small sip. It will take you a along way down the lane to a labyrinth of disaster.

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