More People Under the Age of Thirty Drink Alcohol – Thursday, 2.7.2009

Posted on 3 July 2009
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 619
http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/

“Phnom Penh: More people like to drink beer and wine now, while the media openly advertise beer and wine excessively.

“An expert health official said on condition of anonymity, ‘I want to ask the advertisers who are already being strongly criticized. I don’t know what to do.’ He added, ‘I think that all sectors of society involved, including the advertisers, should think about both the advantages and the effects of such advertisements.’

“He said angrily, ‘Advertisements are to make money for them, and they want money. Therefore, they do not care about the health of people and their excessive advertisements, which affect the citizens’s health.’

“The head of the National Center for Health Promotion of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Lim Thayhang, said that, as stated by the Minister of Health, Dr. Mam Bunheng, ‘We are implementing policies and instructions related to advertisements for alcohol.’

“He added, ‘Those advertisement should care for the citizen’s health and should not make excessive advertisements. Advertisement should stay at a level to simply promote sales but not confuse the citizens.’

“He continued to say that to drink alcohol moderately makes people enjoy their meal, but drinking too much will bring health hazards to them and to others.

“The deputy director of the Technical Office of the Health Department of Banteay Meanchey, Dr. Keo Pichsovann, said that when alcohol reaches the stomach, the liver will process it to 90%, and poisons products of this processing will be emitted through breathing, feces, and sweat, and it can make changes to the human brain, weakening the body, causing inflammation of the stomach, cause the loss of memory, inflame the nerves, cause trembling of the hands and the legs, increase cholesterol in the blood, raise the blood pressure, weaken the muscles, the pancreas, and the reproductive organs, cause diabetes, and lead to domestic violence…

“The coordinator of the Cambodian Youth Council, Ms. Puthy Rath, said that beer and wine are abused everywhere, and most abusers are men. She added that the reason why men like drinking alcohol is that they think that when they meet each other, wine is important for their parties. However, they should rather talk to each other and discuss something for pleasure instead of drinking wine.

“She went on to say, ‘The abuse of alcohol is not good, as it might lead to domestic violence and traffic accidents while driving, because of losing self-control when drunk.’

“Regarding the abuse of alcohol by youth, Ms. Puthy Rath said, ‘I see that an increasing number of youth in the city and in some provinces drink alcohol, and most of them are under 30.’

“There have been many alcohol-related accidents reported almost every day.

“A Land Safety Traffic Program official, Mr. Meas Chandy, said that in 2008, there were 25,796 injured divers, and 1,638 died. Among that number, 14% corresponding to 1,488 cases, were caused by alcohol related accidents.

“He added that there were 3,420 victims who suffered alcohol-related accidents, including deaths and injuries. Motorbike drivers abusing alcohol were 2,147, and car drivers abusing alcohol were 154. The director of the PDP-Center [?] stated, based on research conducted by civil society and by state institutions in seven provinces and cities, that among 1,400 people surveyed, each family has to spend between Riel 1,100 [approx. US$0.20] to Riel 5,000 [approx. US$1.20] per day on alcohol. Among them, 58 are young people between the ages of 18 and 25 who are students, but abuse alcohol.

“Youth who like and do not like to drink alcohol expressed different ideas. Kong Vichet, a student of the Boeng Trabaek High School said, ‘I drank beer and wine occasionally during parties with friends, but it did not cause any addiction.’

“That young man admitted that he drank alcohol occasionally, but had never had any accidents, as he always drove carefully after he had drank some alcohol.

“Kong Vichet added, ‘To drink wine is not easy to handle, but it is nice to drink it with friends. Anyway, I acknowledge that being heavily drunk can affect the health, as it causes headache or stomachache when recovering from being drunk.’

“Bich Chantha, a student of the Paññasastra University, said, ‘I think that alcohol is not something strange, and as for youth, not only Khmers but also foreigners like it. The important thing is how much one should drink so that one does not lose self-control so as to avoid traffic accidents.’

“Bich Chantha said that he had never had a traffic accident resulting from drinking alcohol, but his friends had experienced one.

“Sin Nearyrath, a student of Tuol Tumpung High School, said that she has never drunk alcohol, but she had seen her classmates drink it. She added that according to Khmer tradition, drinking wine is not good and wine does not taste good.

“Sin Nearyrath said she had seen youth who drink alcohol almost every day, and that her father had been drunk when he had a party with his friends.

“The deputy director of the Department of Women’s Affair of Banteay Meanchey, Ms. Oung Rasmei, said that drinking alcohol makes people change their behavior which leads to many consequences.”

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #4935, 2.7.2009
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Thursday, 2 July 2009