Alcohol awareness: Drink to Tamil Nadu’s health

Despite the state government earning nearly one-fifth of its revenue from liquor, it had allocated just Rs 4.4 crore in the last 12 years since 2003-04 to create awareness among the public about the evils of consuming illicit arrack, liquor and methanol. Compare this with the excise and sales tax revenue. Since 2003-04, when the state government, through Tasmac, took over exclusive retail sale of Indian made foreign liquor, the earnings were a staggering Rs 1.47 lakh crore.

Notwithstanding all tall claims of bringing about prohibition if voted to power, DMK president M. Karunanidhi during his rule between 2006 and 2011, had not even allocated any fund to create awareness against evils of liquor. During the DMK rule, the revenue from excise and sales tax had doubled from

Rs 7473 crore in 2006-07 to Rs 14,965 crore in 2010-11. On the other hand, the AIADMK government allotted Rs 10 lakh in 2003-04 and Rs 30 lakh in 2004-05 during its 2001-06 regime for awareness campaign.

After a lapse of about seven years, the Jayalalithaa government on December 1, 2011 once again allocated Rs 1 crore and another Rs 1 crore in 2012-13. In 2013-14 and 2014-15, the state government allowed the Tasmac to release Rs 1 crore from its own funds to the Commissioner of Prohibition and Excise for conducting awareness campaigns against liquor and illicit arrack.

Successive governments in the state had spent very little money on creating awareness on evils of liquor consumption, said Satta Panchayat Iyakkam general secretary Senthil Arumugam.

“Even the meagre fund allocated for creating awareness is used to hold rally against illicit arrack. They are not campaigning against liquor consumption. Basically, they want to convey that the message that it is safe to drink in Tasmac,” he said, showing a pamphlet distributed by Madurai district collector for a rally in March this year to create awareness against illicit arrack consumption.

A senior government official said funds were not only used to create awareness on illicit liquor and arrack consumption but also against ill effects of liquor.

“Funds are used to hold rallies, street plays, distribution of pamphlets, erection of hoardings in public places, essay competitions and elocution competitions on the evils of liquor all over the state,” he said.

The survey was done to study alcohol consumption pattern among low-income individuals in Chennai by Frank Schilbach of department of economics, Harvard University, as part of his paper “Alcohol and Self Control: A Field Experiment in India” which was published in February this year.

The survey covered workers including porters, loadmen, construction labourers, rag pickers, rickshaw peddlers, fruit/vegetable vendors, sewage workers and fishermen.

Disturbingly, the survey which covered 1,227 men, reveals higher level of alcohol consumption among low income individuals who on an average consume about 5.3 standard drinks per day. Men engaged in different jobs reported drinking average quantities ranging from 3.8 (by shopkeepers) to 6.5 ( load men) standard drinks.

World Health Organisation defines a standard drink as one containing 14 grams of pure ethanol. A small bottle of beer (330 ml at 5 per cent alcohol), a glass of wine (140 ml at 12 per cent alcohol), or a shot of hard liquor (40 ml at 40 per cent alcohol) each contains about one standard drink.

Interestingly, WHO’s Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health 2014 reveals that an average male Indian drinker consumes about five standard drinks per day, exceeding the estimates for German, American, and even Russian consumers.

With high prevalence of alcohol consumption, the low income individuals are spending considerable amount of their income on alcohol. “On an average, individuals reported spending between 9.2 and 43 per cent of their weekly income of Rs 300 to Rs 500 on alcohol. These numbers are particularly remarkable because many low-income men in Chennai are the sole income earners of their families,” the report said. Social activist Paadam A. Narayanan said alcohol consumption among physical labourers was high due to peer pressure and work environment. To get over hard labour, they tend to drink. “It is not a justification but reality.”

There are many reasons for drinking by people from lower strata. It included irregular nature of their work, none to restrain them and work environment,” he said, pointing to the lack of opportunity to socialise with different sections of society. “Their only opportunity to socialise is to drink together,” he said.

Narayanan said a study done in the city slums had revealed over 90 per cent of spouse reported facing abuse, including sexual abuse, from their husbands.

TNSPWD members said the Rs 30,000 crore that the state earned could be compensated by collecting the pending tax, utilisation of waste lands and commercialising mines.

The association members asserted that the state could collect Rs 5 lakh crore in a year if the revenue department collected the various taxes pending in a stringent manner.

“For around 20 lakh acres of agricultural land that was converted to residential plots over the past 10 years, the panchayat, gram panchayat, municipality and the corporation are yet to collect 60 per cent of the taxes for which the government is losing over Rs 1.5 lakh crore,” said A. Veerappan, the association general secretary at a press meet on Friday.

He also added that by introducing a parking fee for four-wheelers and by imposing tax on multinational companies, the government could earn Rs 3.5 lakh crore and also provide employment for at least two lakhs.

R. Muthukumaran, a former Vice-Chancellor of Bharatidasan University, Aruna Bharati, general secretary of Tamil Nadu Youth Front, and Senthil Armugam, president of Satta Panchayat Iyakkam were also present.