Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
where they could buy all the alcohol they wanted underworld and politicians, bureaucrats and police
openly. Canada was paradise simply because it had officers has been the result. It is this nexus that has
no prohibition. been most vehemently opposing lifting of prohibition
Just as during late 1950’s, Morarji Desai’s term of in Gujarat. Isn’t it ironical that women’s movements
Chief Minister of Bombay, Daman, only a few hours’ have been indirectly supporting this unholy nexus?
drive from Bombay, had become a thriving tourist Under prohibition, an average consumer is put
centre. In those days, Daman was Portuguese through much more hardship and pays much more
territory and thus, for prohibition-afflicted Bombay, for a bottle of liquor. Normally, liquor contributes
a paradise. the maximum revenue to state exchequer.
If Gujarat is anything to go by, prohibition is a Government earns no revenue from the sale of liquor.
complete failure. Not only is alcohol readily available The revenue
to the rich, but also the poor now have to resort to amount (actually a
illegal brews, with a consequent rise in criminal higher amount)
activity and deaths from methanol poisoning. now flows to the
Prohibition in India is the Emperor’s Clothes, by mafia and its
another name, a great pretence. Police inspectors and patrons in the state
DCPs who ordered raids on hotels and residences machinery. In other
while drink parties were in progress because they had words, prohibition
not been paid hefty haftas despite having paid licence helps growth of
fees. Policemen who do not themselves drink are rare. crime and weakens
Many of the ministers of states, which still have the legitimate
prohibition, are themselves drinkers, and simply institutions of the
having one of them at your party is an insurance state.
against being raided. It has been
demonstrated time
The Unintended Consequences and again that
Let us also look at the machinery, supposed to prohibition does not lead to a substantial reduction
enforce the ban. In states like Madhya Pradesh and in alcohol consumption. In recent years Haryana
Uttar Pradesh, a large number of cabinet ministers experimented with prohibition. The experiment was
are addicted to alcohol. A significantly large number an utter failure. After the lifting of prohibition in
(by some estimates it is a majority) of policemen, Haryana, liquor consumption has increased to a level
lawyers, court officials and government employees higher than that of pre-prohibition days. Instead of
are seen with swollen eyes and puffed faces. Almost making people give up drinking alcohol or even
every government office has such people in encouraging temperance, it somehow has the
abundance. Is it not ridiculous to imagine that such opposite effect.
hopeless addicts will be able to prevent others from In a social order in which everyone who takes a
falling prey to the habit? drink becomes a criminal, even normally well-
Even in India, the liquor trade has slowly but behaved citizens lose all respect for the law.
steadily moved from the hands of normal Prohibition opens up a whole new Pandora’s box of
businessmen to the clutches of organised criminals evils and absurdities.
in every state where prohibition was tried. The
underworld has discovered a perennial source of easy What does not work?
money. Certain specific communities who work hand If prohibition legislation is no answer to alcohol
in glove with the underworld now control most of abuse, will price control work?
the liquor trade. The law enforcing machinery has Denmark tried to ensure this by making alcohol
also found it a lucrative opportunity where they make too expensive for the man in the street. But then the
huge piles of money by just looking the other way. man in the street is also a born survivor, never to be
Development of an unholy nexus between the deterred by artificial barriers. So the Danes daily go
Advanc'edge MBA / September 2003
on what are called ‘Spirit Ships’, which, drinking and driving, and
within forty minutes take them out into w the provision of peer education on
international waters, and there, of drinking behaviour in colleges and
course, all drinks and cigarettes are schools.
duty free. Secondary prevention would enable
the reduction of the effects of problem
What may work? drinking post problem identification in
Contrast the failures of experiments an individual. Counsellors could work
in prohibition with the successes of with other organisations, such as
anti-smoking campaign carried out across the world Alcoholics Anonymous and the Indian Psychiatric
for the past three decades. Four decades back, Association, in a united campaign to help families
smoking was fashionable, cool and the in-thing. affected by problem drinking.
Almost every movie whether made in Hollywood or The policy of prohibition is at odds with an
Bollywood showed the main lead male star smoking. essential ingredient of any community health
Things have changed almost completely for the programme namely, its participatory approach. By
smokers. Films no longer show the hero with a identifying drinking in men as the problem, the
cigarette on his lips. Smokers are not welcome at most current approach alienates and excludes them from
social gatherings. A smoker has to typically hide participating in the solution. Bar owners and alcohol
himself in a toilet or go out into the street to have a manufacturers, usually men, see their livelihood
puff. Sales of cigarette companies have been falling destroyed and, instead of empathising with women,
in most countries across the world. Three decades feel threatened.
ago more than half the students on the campuses Women’s efforts in their vociferous support for
smoked. Now this figure is less than ten per cent. All prohibition are admirable, but women’s groups
this has been achieved without any punitive should remember that it would always be the poor
measures or restrictions on manufacture, sale or who will suffer due to prohibition.
consumption of cigarettes. A community based, participatory public health
In fact, the setbacks in the anti-smoking campaign model to tackle alcohol misuse is the only way to
have been in only those areas where harsh prohibitive reduce the negative impact of problem drinking while
measures were attempted. An example is the recent safeguarding the economic benefits of alcohol,
ban, following Supreme Court directives, on smoking avoiding punishment to the majority who drink
in trains and railway premises anywhere in the sensibly, and preventing deaths and crime which
country. The ban has been a failure. One can see result from the illegal bootlegging industry.
smokers standing near the doors and toilets polluting The steps suggested above are based on the
the air with impunity. understanding that there are limits to state action. A
A sensible approach to the problem would have state represents the will of the people. It cannot
built on the successful model of anti-smoking confront and go against its own people. A state can
campaign based on education, persuasion and only act as a catalyst for social reforms that seek to
creating a positive social environment. As a first modify the will of the people, inevitably a slow
step, advertisement and publicity of alcohol and all process that requires patience and perseverance.
alcohol based products should be prohibited. It needs no expert knowledge but good old
Educating the public about bad effects of alcohol common sense to realise that a slow and steady
should receive the priority of the Governments. Help approach is likely to work much better than the
may be taken in this regard from media, advertising impractical sledgehammer approach of total ban on
agencies, social organisations etc. A very strict view manufacture and sale of alcohol. Let us pray that the
should also be taken of drunken driving, similar to guardians of law abide by common sense and not
the ban on mobile phones while driving. enforcing military rule.
Primary preventive strategies to reduce overall
alcohol consumption in the population, should be
The author is a practising Chartered Accountant
w the strict enforcement of laws on licensing and on