Friday 7th July, 2006 5 ‘Children must be made aware of harmful effects of alcohol and tobacco By Wijitha Nakkawita and Lakshmi de Silva tive impact on their livelihood. Their position also should the people of the South. Therefore the government ister, but it was equally or more important that the law sumption of alcohol or tobacco. The illicit breweries Parliament passed without division the National be looked into as Jaffna farmers have been cultivating should take strict action to prevent drugs being smug- was enforced especially in the interests of the made profits but did not pay any income tax. Authority of Tobacco and Alcohol Bill presented in the tobacco for more than half a century. gled in, he said. younger generation including children. Chandrasiri Gajadheera UPFA said 20,000 peo- House by Minister of Healthcare and Nutrition Nimal (JVP) said alcohol and Vadivel Suresh (CWC) said the media should Minister of Fisheries suggested ple die annually of diseases generated by the use of Siripala de Silva. tobacco manufacturing firms are in a ring to make profits come out strongly against tobacco and alcohol use that the excess paddy production be used to manu- tobacco. Awareness should be made among children Rohana Kumara Dissanayake, Matale District but the nation’s health suffers especially children are and addiction. The legislation was very important facture an alcoholic drink like ‘Sake’ with a lower con- and youth about the harmful effects of tobacco which said the ill effects of tobacco and especially alcohol was given the wrong message by these business interests. especially in preventing the younger generation and tent of alcohol to prevent illicit hooch kasippu being contains hundreds of harmful chemicals and 40 car- felt on the underprivileged societies like Samurdhi bene- During a certain big match between two schools in 2003, school children from becoming addicted to alcohol consumed by those who want to have an alcoholic cinogens. ficiaries, a 60 percent and almost 90 percent of the plan- the event was sponsored by a beer manufacturer. It was and tobacco. Strict action should be taken against drink. As a rice-based product with standards Professor , Minister of tation workers as these people have been found to be also found by the Narcotics Authority that most of those those who send children out to buy tobacco products enforced, it will be cheaper and cleaner and he per- Parliamentary Affairs said the dangerous spread of addicted to alcohol especially illicit brew, kassippu. people who become addicted to drugs like heroin or and even alcoholic drinks. This is found to happen sonally felt this could resolve some of the problems kasippu even in the rural sector and the plantation Passing laws to stop advertising tobacco, prohibiting hashish start with the tobacco. especially in the plantation sector and was a very dan- caused by the consumption of impure liquor with an sector was a danger to the nation’s health. smoking in public places alone will not deter those who It is well known that LTTE terrorists derive the major gerous habit that should be stopped. unsafe content of methyl alcohol also in it. Annually about 5 million people are killed due to manufacture legal or illegal alcohol or tobacco products. component of their illegal income from the interna- Sujatha Alahakoon JVP said as a person who S. Sampanthan TNA group leader said there tobacco and the developing countries are the hardest There should be an effective mechanism to prevent tional drug racket. The pity was while the LTTE killed was employed in the education sector for 25 years, was a religious dimension to the Bill while there was a hit as they are the consumers while the developed people becoming addicted to their use. people with bombs and firearms, they were also slow- she was happy over the setting up of a National health concern too but he felt it was an infringement countries produce to export them to the third world N. Raviraj (TNA) said a large number of farmers in ly killing the youth of the country by selling drugs to Tobacco and Alcohol Authority, introduced by the min- of the rights of citizens to inhibit or control the con- nations who suffer the ill effects. the North were tobacco cultivators and their main income was from tobacco crop. The new law will have a nega-