The tobacco and alcohol menace

THE PRICE of fags has gone up once again almost as a ritual ahead of the National Budget.

The Ceylon Tobacco Company has announced an increase in the price of all popular brands of cigarettes by as much as Rs.1.50, which is said to be the biggest ever price hike introduced. There is little doubt that liquor too would follow suit.

No sensible person would oppose these price hikes, as the adverse effects of these two evils are well known. The Government’s Mathata Thitha programme has been so successful that excise revenue has actually gone down. Attempts by various groups to popularise smoking among the young generation have failed miserably.

Every Government since independence have used liquor and cigarettes to rake in revenue by increasing excise taxes secure in the knowledge that other than initial murmurs of protest, diehard addicts would not kick the habit.

It is thus clear that much more needs to be done to wean them away from this deadly habit, which imparts a massive health bill to the State.

The other side of the coin is that a bootleg tobacco industry has sprung up, depriving the State of millions of rupees. The recent detection of Rs. 100 million worth illegally smuggled cigarettes is a case in point.

Islandwide raids by excise officers also reveal the existence of hundreds of moonshine outlets doing brisk business. They do not pay a red cent to the State, but it has to spend heavily to treat alcoholics who develop various diseases after consuming the vile drinks.

Thus there has to be a compromise between taxes and the affordability of legal liquor, as exorbitant prices can drive imbibers to the illicit market. For example, there have been calls to reduce taxes on soft liquor to drive people away from kasippu.

With Sri Lanka ranked among the top boozers in the world, the authorities face an uphill task. Their goal should be promoting abstinence by persuasion rather than price increases alone. Towards this end the Government should carry out a more vigorous programme to educate the people of the evils of alcohol and tobacco.

Alcohol and tobacco scenes are already being blocked on television screens, which is a good start. There should be counselling programmes to rehabilitate compulsive drinkers with professional assistance.

The Mathata Thitha programme should be taken to far-flung villages where entire communities are hooked on the local brew. Schools and civic organisations should be enlisted in the exercise of carrying the Government’s message to the larger populace.

The Jennings pisode

UNDERSTANDABLY, there was outrage and indignation expressed in many quarters on the actions by certain student elements who sabotaged the naming of a new hostel at the Peradeniya University after its founder Sir Ivor Jennings.

Academic work was suspended as teachers boycotted lectures in protest against the students’ action. This episode no doubt is a reflection of the moral decline and deterioration of the accepted norms and conduct of the new generation of students in all spheres.

It is also a shocking revelation of the insensitivity to one’s roots and heritage since Sir Jennings was the founder of the Peradeniya University.

The conduct of these students is another example of the dwindling values and ethos of the present generation that has scant regard for all that is held in esteem and reverence. It is also a testament to the rapid decline in discipline and ethical values among the present day youth who seem to have broken away from their moorings.

Time was when teachers were held in awe and reverence by the students. The teachers on the other hand were martinets who instilled discipline and moral values into their charges including the gratitude and other virtues. Today the teachers are guilty of setting a bad example to students by themselves staging agitations.

The Jennings episode is also an example of the crumbling edifice of society where corruption has set in almost all spheres. This deep malaise of indiscipline among the younger generation should be seriously addressed by our policy makers since it could be symptomatic of deep seated cancer eating into our social fabric.

The Government therefore has a challenge before it to maintain an orderly society entrenched in a value system. Hooligans should not be allowed to take control of the lives and destinies of our people.