Thursday, March 28, 2024

Government to take measures to curb alcohol abuse-Dr Chilufya

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A soccer fan holds a bottle of Mosi lager during the Zambia Bukina Faso match in Lusaka
A soccer fan holds a bottle of Mosi lager
Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya says his ministry will work with the civil society and other stakeholders to come up with an alcohol policy aim at regulating its abuse.

Dr. Chilufya says President Edgar Lungu’s speech to parliament that strongly condemned alcohol abuse is timely as reports indicate that rising cases of mental illnesses among youths are due to substance abuse.

Speaking to ZNBC news in an interview, Dr. Chilufya said he will work closely with the ministry of Local Government and ministry of religious affairs and national guidance among others to ensure the policy is firm.

On Friday during his state of the nation address to Parliament, President Lungu directed relevant line government ministries to coordinate and ensure alcohol abuse in the country is brought to a stop.

President Lungu said the rate at which alcohol is being abused among the youth in the country is worrisome and should be addressed immediately.

21 COMMENTS

  1. these *****s yet they reduced price of beer. reduce price and the drinker drinks one extra beer. increase price and drunker drinks one less.

    • it is also simply *****ic of you to believe that beer is abused or maybe you have no idea how to classify alcohol.There is beer like eg mosi,there is wine,there are spirits, there is whyskey, there is brand.Have seen jilijili is back in small bottles.That is cheap alcohol because those contain a high PERCENT of alcohol and can not be classified in any category because no government departments (ZIBS, toxic whatever) have taken interest in assessing the quality of that alcohol.As for beer being cheap that is a big no.The people who can afford to drink beer are the working class(me one of them) and only drink on weekends as for the people who can buy jilijili which are equivalent to 100 beers are the unemployed and lower class income and they consume every day some citing poverty as the…

    • “President Edgar Lungu’s speech to parliament that strongly condemned alcohol abuse is timely as reports indicate that rising cases of mental illnesses….”

      WE KNOW! We have the best example of this living right there in State House! Amongst other symptoms –

      Lying and Stealing. Inability to do a job properly. Paranoia at being fired. Dictatorial tendencies. Hypocrisy. Pretending to be religious.

      Alcohol is truly a terrible affliction!

  2. We need serious action and not just sentiment reaction! Alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana and has caused so much devastation – broken homes, ra.pe cases, assaults, public brawls, domestic violence, drunken driving leading to accidents loss of valuable lives and permanent injuries such as paralysis and amputations!
    Zambia has a serious alcohol problem we must confront it head on! Less rhetoric and more work to end this terrible problem.

  3. When Ian Seretse Kharma the great took over as president of the great republic of Bechuanaland now called Botswana, he was faced with the same problem of drunkenness among his citizens mainly from foreign influence and alcohol was claiming so many lives mainly from road accidents and assaults. The first thing he did was to double Tax on beer. Breweries threatened to lay off their employees but Ian increased tax again and said let me have the list you wish to lay off so that I employ them in various government departments. He put his foot down and today, sanity has been restored. The rates of alcohol related deaths has reduced by 80%! That is what Zambia needs to do!

    • Botswana drunkards are not happy with the special taxes on beers…. Imagine 750 Jamson or jw black or 12yrs glenvidich at K600.00 or most at K13.00. The best sales are now black label coats 750 ml at just under K20……beer mat cost the ruling party at the next poll…

  4. When the Bible says Drunkenness destroys a nation, citizens of the so called Christian nation should know better! Alcohol shrinks your body tissues over time. It shrinks your brain, your liver, your testicles, it burns your pancreas, and for ladies, it causes reproductive health problems and additional dangers to the fetus (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome)! Mental problems arise from a shrunken brain! Today we have 30 year olds with a brain of a 70 year old on MRI and CT scans. It scares me what kind of Zambia we’ll have in 10 years from now. No wonder our youths today are not as productive as we used to be those days. During our time, we knew there was time to work and time to drink. Today, our young people want to be drunk all the time, even reporting for work drunk! I propose further to the…

  5. I propose further to the minister to introduce legislation and procure more breathalyzers and make it mandatory that every employee reporting for work is checked for alcohol! Very unpopular but very important if we are to save this country from total collapse!

    • Iwee chi zonda. . Nzelu kuipa monga chi gbm na chi hh. Just like your name, your hate for drunkards equal to hh,s hate of God……nothing wrong with drinking beer. It’s a choice

  6. ….me am already at my usual Pub waiting for them to open and so that I can “kill my nasty hangover”, ndegabula BAD; CHEERS ?

  7. it is also simply *****ic of you to believe that beer is abused or maybe you have no idea how to classify alcohol.There is beer like eg mosi,there is wine,there are spirits, there is whyskey, there is brand.Have seen jilijili is back in small bottles.That is cheap alcohol because those contain a high PERCENT of alcohol and can not be classified in any category because no government departments (ZIBS, toxic whatever) have taken interest in assessing the quality of that alcohol.As for beer being cheap that is a big no.The people who can afford to drink beer are the working class(me one of them) and only drink on weekends as for the people who can buy jilijili which are equivalent to 100 beers are the unemployed and lower class income and they consume every day some citing poverty as the…

  8. Just on my way to buy 2 jack daniels and coke to kill babalazi..olo castle black label …Si moba. Wa. Anyoko

  9. Lungu reduced price of beer. Are pf really normal. The person you are meant to be curbing and forcefully sending to rehab is that alcoholic rat Lungu. How can you fight beer problems when the one in charge is an alcoholic

  10. The state of the economy is speaking right back to us. Drinking and playing bonanza seems to be the remedy for now for this worst economic quagmire.
    First of all, who allowed the Chinese to set up these bananzas in almost every part of Zambia? Now you are complaining that people have become drunks? Simple, they cannot afford to buy food, there is no employment, so the easy thing to do is play bonanza, win a few coins buy junta and try to kill themselves because this PF is so callous and does not care anymore. Everything is out of reach, we warned you and you never listened, now the country is in reverse gear and the chinese are making money while you suffer.

  11. Ok people be serious. You have a torch bearer of alcohol abuse for a president and he is complaining about alcohol abuse in others. What a paradox!! Is he excluding himself in this lamentation?
    In fact this must be a God given chance for for drunken president to be a concrete example to others by quitting alcohol,,., stronger message that just yapping. Ati Mr walk for talk?!! What walk because soon after his address he went straight for his binge. Utter lack of seriousness with this sorry excuse of a president

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