Alcohol Abuse Prevention: Better Late than Never
- By Cambodianess
- February 18, 2024 10:00 AM
In view of the increase in the number of fatal road accidents, among which many are due to drunk drivers, the Cambodian government, on instruction of the Prime Minister, seems to want to turn the page on the kind of permissiveness that was prevailing until now.
The reinforcement of drivers’ alcohol testing, especially at night, and the toughening of the measures against negligent drivers who flee the scene have been announced and a large police force has been deployed to carry out these checks.
Moreover, the Prime Minister has ordered the Minister of Information to submit plans for the regulation of alcohol advertising. This issue is far from new. As proof, one of our first columns published in May 2019—that is, more than 5 years ago!—was about this issue. At the time, this had probably not resonated as much as the issue deserved. Too early, probably. Since the issue is being put at last at the top of the list of priorities, we are republishing the whole text in order to promote reflection on this matter of public interest.
Beer: Bubbles, Fun but also Blood and Tears
Friends, sexy girls, laughter…In beer commercials filling all television screens in the country, life is always wonderful!
Which goes without saying since they are meant to make people want to drink beer.
You will not see in those commercials a drunken man beating his wife who reproaches him for wasting their household money on beer.
You will never see a bunch of overexcited young people in a bar pestering a woman server who must keep on smiling not to be fired by her boss.
You will never see the pain of the families of tourists who were recently killed on Sisowath Quay in a collision between a tuk-tuk and a big car driven by a drunk driver.
And you will never see the tears of a mother at a hospital visiting her son injured in a motorcycle accident while going home after a wedding where there was a great deal to drink.
All this is real life.
Of course, one cannot prohibit beer on the grounds that, when consumed without restraint, it affects health and may lead to family and social tragedies.
And of course, one cannot prevent beer producers from making their businesses prosper by investing millions of dollars in advertising and promotional campaigns.
But couldn’t we impose some restraint on their commercials that are filled with lies and target a young audience seduced by glitzy scenes?
Couldn’t we impose on them some moderation in their promotional campaigns that incite overconsumption through lotteries with staggering winnings?
Couldn’t we compel beer producers to fund prevention campaigns regarding overconsumption of alcohol?
Just as we should oblige companies of toxic junk food—which get rich by selling products oversaturated with sugar and fat—to fund information campaigns on nutrition to prevent silent killers such as diabetes and hypertension, beer producers should be ordered by the authorities to contribute to public health campaigns.
As was stressed in a prevention campaign conducted in a foreign country and from which one could take inspiration: One beer is fine, three beers mean disaster. Especially when one is driving.
