Alcohol Control Issue - Essay Example

 Alcohol Control Introduction Alcoholism and alcohol abuse has become a global issue where many countries across the globe have continuously tried to establish and implement alcohol control measures to try and minimize alcohol abuse and consumption consequences. Policies applied with regard to alcohol control vary from country to country. Alcoholism and alcohol abuse have effects on both the alcoholics and the wider society. This paper seeks to identify the effects of alcohol, alcohol control measures with their effects and limitations. Why alcohol control is necessary Despite alcohol contributing to economy growth through generating revenue for the government, some of its effects have led to control methods being inevitable. Heavy drinking causes lethal damage to the body where it is a risk factor for diseases like cancer, liver cirrhosis and heart problems. Alcoholism and alcohol abuse also has negative and devastating social consequences. Alcoholics have high chances of getting divorced, are more vulnerable to domestic violence, struggle much with employment and live in absurd poverty (Boyle, 2013). One effect that an alcohol abuser cannot escape is the effect on personal relationships. The problem of alcoholism puts enormous strains to all the people surrounding the alcoholic. It mostly tasks family members and close friends with covering the alcoholic. The burden is covered between people who do not take alcohol and children suffer from trauma incase the alcoholic is a parent or caregiver. Alcohol abuse has damaging effects on the brain that include memory lapses, blackouts and other types of brain damage. With these adverse effects of alcoholism and alcohol abuse, alcohol control ways were established to minimize the effects on society (Boyle, 2013). Alcohol control methods Alcoholism is said to be a fatal illness whose medical cure is yet to be known. Alcohol control has been enacted right from its production, marketing as well as consumption. The control measures may also have effects on limiting competition and create a partial monopoly. This will in return increase profits for the ones that remain in the market. With some considerations, alcohol controls may therefore put some economic interests at stake. Professional means of alcohol control through rehab centers could also act effectively in reducing alcohol related dangers (Boyle, 2013). The controls are therefore inevitable in this modern society. Some alcohol control methods include; Pricing control Price of alcohol plays a major role in influencing the level of consumption and its subsequent related harm. Evidence has over time shown that with low alcohol prices, there is increased consumption. Low prices also result in heavy drinking and underage drinking. This in return leads to more alcohol related harm. At high prices, consumption automatically drops. Population based policies that influence alcohol prices can also be effective through targeting heavy drinkers (Room, 1983). Heavy drinkers and young people are most sensitive to prices where they tend to seek out for cheaper drinks. High costs, therefore, contribute effectively to the control of harmful alcohol consumption. Effective pricing control therefore reduces alcohol affordability in a country. Restrictions on availability Alcohol prohibition could seem as a way of infringing a person’s right to consume alcohol a habit that some people in the society consider to contain health benefits. Western countries have set policies aiming at reducing alcohol misuse and not alcohol usage. Some WHO member states have reported alcohol availability restrictions based on age. Approximately 65% of the nations in the world have laws that control alcohol production and sale. This is done by licensing arrangement that has effectively reduced alcohol consumption (Boyle, 2013).In some countries, alcohol sale is prohibited in petrol stations and government outlets. Alcohol taxation Setting a specific commodity tax on the alcohol products helps countries and policy makers influence its prices. This policy has become cost effective as a result of many countries setting customs system that has imposed special taxes on the locally produced alcohol and tariffs on alcohol imports. Tariffs on imports and excise duties on locally produced alcohol has also been a historical source of government revenue. With this method, governments can use the excise rates on alcohol as a health tool and reduce the levels of harm that are alcohol related (Boyle, 2013). Regulatory control While in the production and importation levels, regulatory controls are highly important and useful. This is mostly effective in countries with a problem of illicit alcohol. Licensing will establish a record of the legitimate alcohol sources based on taxation and enforcement. Diversion to illicit market will be limited as a result of tracking the product movements. Interventions mainly in the pricing, subsidization and time regulation, manner of alcohol sales, content and packaging regulations are inevitable in most countries (Room, 1983). Controls on the production, marketing and consumption get imposed for a variety of reasons. The agricultural policies that provide subsidiaries to farmers also affect the prices of alcoholic beverages. Alcohol controls also function as sumptuary laws that keep alcohol out of powerless and dangerous hands. Considerations based on public health have, however, played just a small role in the alcohol controls (Boyle, 2013). Effects of Alcohol controls Research has shown that increasing the alcoholic beverage prices lowers the consumption rates. An increase in alcohol taxes on the other hand adds government revenues as well as reducing consumption levels. The effects of these alcohol controls on the rates of social problems and, health are even more important than the effects on alcohol consumption levels. The effect of these controls on alcohol related harm is usually stronger than the effect on consumption levels (Room, 1983). However, alcohol control policies and measures are effective only in the free societies where they get to enjoy wide measures of support. The alcohol control measures, however, face limitations to their effectiveness. For instance, as a result of too high alcoholic products, illicit products get their way to the market. Alcohol control measures may also have negative effects, especially as people try to look for alternatives. Alcohol prohibition could be the only sure way without negative effects, but unfortunately it is an impossible way of control (Boyle, 2013). This is because some people have the belief that alcohol has medicinal value and so prohibition would be a violation of their human rights. Alcohol prohibition would also have a negative effect on the economy as it also generates government revenue through taxes and excise duties. Limitations of alcohol control measures The control measures also have limitations besides effectively controlling the level and rates of alcohol consumption. Some of these limitations include; Unrecorded alcohol Increasing alcohol taxes to reduce the harms brought about by its consumption, it leads to an increase in unrecorded or illegal alcohol production. Cross-border smuggling may also be witnessed depending with the country. The existence of informal alcoholic markets threatens the viability of the effective policy interventions of control through taxation and availability (Boyle, 2013). Monitoring and enforcement Regulation, taxing and reporting mainly from local producers and importers may involve fewer points of enforcement than sales tax. The effectiveness of alcoholic costs through taxes especially on public health strategies applies only in countries that have excise and custom systems. Increased taxes may also lead to an increase in unreported illegal alcohol production (Boyle, 2013). Cross-border smuggling may also occur from neighboring countries which have lower prices. In this case the risks vary between the concerned countries. Dedicated alcohol taxes tend to increase the enforcement resources (Room, 1983). High taxes that affect prices of alcohol may lead to a shift in consumption from the expensive drinks to cheaper but more hazardous beverages. Control pricing Control pricing makes alcohol control effective by reducing affordability and hence consumption mainly by young people and heavy drinkers who rely on cheap alcohol. Its limitation occurs when these addicted heavy drinkers and young people would opt for other cheaper but dangerous alcoholic beverages. Illicit products could also find their way to the market (Boyle, 2013). Increased prices may also result to market dominance by the few producers who would manage to keep up with the increased cost of production. Conclusion Alcoholism and alcohol abuse have many negative effects on society today, it is therefore suitable for necessary measures to be established to control alcohol consumption and alcohol related harm. Different country governments have their different ways to try and control alcohol consumption and its related dangers with measure that are also faced with limitations. Alcoholism and alcohol consumption also contributes to the economic growth of a country through customs and excise duties. There is therefore a dire need for governments to work on dealing with alcohol abuse and alcohol related harm in the society. This will be achieved through effective alcohol control policies and measures. References Boyle, P. (2013). Alcohol: Science, policy and public health. Oxford, U.K: Oxford University Press. Room, R. (1983). Legislative Strategies and the Prevention of Alcohol Problems, pp.152-164 In: Grant, M. end Ritson, B., eds.,Alcohol: The Prevention Debate. Croom Helm: London. Read More