Parliament to consider The Alcoholic Drinks Control Bill 2023 

The Parliament will next week consider the controversial Alcoholic Drinks Control Bill fronted by the Tororo Woman Member of Parliament (MP) Hon Sarah Opendi Achieng.

The legislator proposed a jail term of 10 years and/or a fine of Sh20m for anyone found selling alcohol before 12Pm and after 6am.

The proposal caused a lot of debate in the public with members of the public saying it was too harsh.

Opendi further proposes a jail term of 1year and a fine of Sh4m to be imposed on anyone found selling alcoholic drinks to law enforcement officers while dressed in their service uniform.

Uganda worryingly tops for being the African country with the highest alcohol intake, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report of May this year (2023).

On average, each person in Uganda consumes 12.21 liters of alcohol per year!

A significant number of Ugandans lose their lives as a result from the harmful use of alcohol.

Though some people reason that light or moderate drinking is generally ok and good for the health, WHO stresses that there is no level of alcohol consumption which is generally safe for human consumption.

According to WHO, Alcohol causes at least seven types of cancer, including the most common cancer types, such as bowel cancer and female breast cancer.

Ethanol (alcohol) causes cancer through biological mechanisms as the compound breaks down in the body, which means that any beverage containing alcohol, regardless of its price and quality, poses a risk of developing cancer according to WHO.

Many youth with a seemingly bright future ahead of them have had their dreams and aspirations completely shuttered due to alcohol addiction.

Many others have developed various health complications like liver, eye, heart and lung diseases.

Alcohol is one of the leading causes of domestic violence and family breakups in Uganda.

The illegally manufactured liquor is too cheap that almost everyone can afford it and in many areas of the country people consume alcohol anytime of the day which has led to alcohol addiction and therefore low productivity which has in turn negatively impacted the economy.

According to WHO, the risk of developing cancer increases substantially the more alcohol is consumed.

However,latest available data indicate that “light” and “moderate” alcohol consuption (less than 1.5 litres of wine or less than 3.5 litres of beer or less than 450 millilitres of spirits per week) is as risky as it is responsible for the majority of alcohol-attributable breast cancer in women.

“We cannot talk about a so-called safe level of alcohol use. It doesn’t matter how much you drink – the risk to the drinker’s health starts from the first drop of any alcoholic beverage. The only thing that we can say for sure is that the more you drink, the more harmful it is – or, in other words, the less you drink, the safer it is,” explains Dr Carina Ferreira-Borges, acting Unit Lead for Noncommunicable Disease Management and Regional Advisor for Alcohol and Illicit Drugs in the WHO Regional Office for Europe.