Over 3 million deaths due to excessive drinking in 2016, says WHO
Geneva : Drinking too much alcohol killed more than 3 million people in 2016, mostly men, the World Health Organization said. The UN health agency also warned that current policy responses are not sufficient to reverse trends predicting an increase in consumption over the next 10 years.
In a new report Friday, the WHO said that about 237 million men and 46 million women faced alcohol problems, with the highest prevalence in Europe and the Americas. Europe has the highest global per capita alcohol consumption, even though it has already dropped by 10 percent since 2010.
Around a third of alcohol-related deaths were a result of injuries, including car crashes and self-harm, while about one in five were due to either digestive disorders or cardiovascular diseases. Cancers, infectious diseases, mental disorders and other health conditions were also to blame.
“Far too many people, their families and communities suffer the consequences of the harmful use of alcohol through violence, injuries, mental health problems and diseases like cancer and stroke,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO. “It’s time to step up action to prevent this serious threat to the development of healthy societies.”
The average daily consumption of alcohol by people who consume it is about two glasses of wine, a large bottle of beer or two shots of spirits. Globally, about 2.3 billion people are current drinkers.
The report, the third in a series after ones in 2010 and 2014, relies on information from 2016 — the latest data available. WHO said the trends and projections point to an expected increase in global alcohol per capita consumption over the next decade, particularly in Southeast Asia and the Americas.
“The policy responses which are currently in place in countries are definitely not sufficient to reverse the trends, which we observe in several parts of the world, or to improve significantly this situation,” Dr. Vladimir Poznyak, coordinator of WHO’s management of substance abuse unit, told reporters.
“When we look at the trends of alcohol consumption in many countries from 2000, you can see ups and downs — which are determined by different factors,” said Poznyak, citing countries’ levels of social development, economic backdrops, policy measures and cultural trends.
He said the data showed, for example, that alcohol consumption tends to drop in countries facing economic crisis.
Poznyak said it was “imperative for the governments to put in place measures that can mitigate the harms associated with this increase.”
The Distilled Spirits Council, which advocates for the industry in the U.S.., said in a statement it supports the WHO’s goal to reduce the harmful use of alcohol. “However, we are concerned that some policy recommendations such as increasing alcohol taxes are misguided and don’t effectively address harmful consumption,” it said.
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Associated Press medical writer Maria Cheng in London contributed to this report.
courtesy : hindustantimes.com
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Civil society organisations jointly file complaint to election commission against BJP in Karnataka
On 06.05.2024, a delegation of concerned citizens and members of various civil society organisations met the Chief Election Officer, Karnataka to file a complaint against Bharatiya Janata Party, Karnataka. The complaint demanded action against BJP Karnataka for violation of Representation of People’s Act. 1951, Model Code of Contact (MCC) and sections 153A, 505 (1) (c ) and 505 (2) by spreading fake news and hate speech through their X handle and through newspaper advertisements.
The video posted on the BJP Karnataka X handle clearly implies that the Muslim community is “eating” all the funds at the cost of other communities, and that the Muslim community is pushing out the other communities. The very manner in which the Muslim community is portrayed as being “bad” is a shocking and blatant attack against the community.Similarly the advertisement spreads fake news that Muslims are being given reservation on the basis of religion, when they are given reservations for being a member of a socially and educationally backward class as per Article 15(4) of the constitution.
It further stated that BJP Karnataka, in putting out the video and the advertisement had violated Section 123 (3A) of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951 by seeking votes on the ground of religion. By attempting to promote hatred among the Muslim and SC/ST/OBC communities, their actions also attracted IPC sections 153(A)1(a), IPC 505(2).The video is in clear violation of the Model Code of Conduct for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 as contained in the Handbook for Candidates Edition 2023 issued by the Election Commission of India and the Compendium of Instructions on the Model Code of Conduct 2024.
The delegation urged the Chief Election Officer, Karnataka to exercise their authority under Article 324 of the Indian Constitution and immediately initiate the following measures:
1. Immediately file an FIR against BJP Karnataka Social Media In-charge; JP Nadda, BJP National President; Amit Malaviya, BJP National Social Media In-charge and BY Vijayendra, State President BJP Karnataka.
2. Direct that the BJP Karnataka X handle not be permitted to post for a minimum of 48 hours.
3. Direct the BJP Karnataka to immediately delete the aforementioned post on their X handle.
4. Take strict action against BJP’s star campaigner, Mr. Narendra Modi, and ban him from campaigning for 48 hours with respect to the aforementioned newspaper advertisement.
5. Direct the BJP Karnataka to issue an apology forthwith with regard to the false claims made in the newspaper advertisement on 05.05.2024. Further, direct that the apology be of the same size as the advertisement.
It is important to note that the Election Commission has promptly initiated action against the KC Rao, President of the Bharatha Rashtra Samiti (https://elections24.eci.gov.in/docs/AhtgLNsZsm.pdf ) and Congress leader Randeep Surjewala ( https://elections24.eci.gov.in/docs/U4pbNwetPL.pdf ) for similar violations. The delegation urged the Election Commission to be equally prompt and strict with the violations committed by the Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party as well.
The CEO, Karnataka informed the delegation that an FIR has already been filed in the matter and the Commission was working with X to bring the video down.
Representatives from Bahutva Karnataka, All India Lawyers Association for Justice (AILAJ), Campaign Against Hate Speech (CAHS), All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), Naaveddu Nilladiddare, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), were part of the delegation.
