Speaking at a program organized in Pokhara, the speaker said that violence has been increasing in the society due to the development of alcohol consumption culture. Participants of the Consumer Interest Protection Forum Nepal, a consumer awareness program organized in Pokhara on Friday on the negative effects of alcohol and the need for regulation, said that the problem is increasing as the use of alcohol is becoming a matter of prestige.
Member of the House of Representatives Bidya Bhattarai said that alcohol culture was on the rise as a side of modernity and it was leading the society towards negativity. Bhattarai said that 80% of the violence was caused by alcohol, adding that alcohol was used to create a psychological illusion that people were powerful and to incite violence. Bhattarai also added that the culture of promoting alcohol in the name of social prestige and luxury was wrong and all parties should pay attention to discourage it.
Kaski Assistant Chief District Officer Anil Shahi said that the administration was fully committed to the implementation of the law made for the sale and distribution of liquor. Dr David Shrestha, Associate Professor at the Western Institute of Health Sciences, gave a presentation on the effects of alcohol on health and said that alcohol consumption is not suitable for health from any point of view.
According to Amrit Basnet, Chief Inspector of Police, District Traffic Office, Kaski, there are an estimated 1.3 to 1.4 million deaths in the age group of 5 to 29 years worldwide. He said that 1,700 to 1,800 deaths are caused by road accidents in Nepal annually, out of which, 69 percent is due to alcohol consumption. He said that reducing 'drink and drive' would reduce accidents.
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