Uganda: When Alcohol Tops Consumer Menus

Source from:  The Monitor (Kampala) 6 November 2007 11/06/2007

A COUPLE of years ago, Uganda took the top spot as the country with the highest per capita consumption of alcohol in the world. Perhaps to prove that many Ugandans have poor numeracy and analytical skills, moreover including educated critics of Uganda's alcohol record, on September 10, 2007, a more powerful but softly-presented 'alcohol' message went almost unnoticed. The Uganda Revenue Authority released the list of Uganda's top tax payers. Uganda Breweries (Shs102b in taxes) and Nile Breweries (Shs60b in taxes), overall in third and fourth positions respectively, had a combined tax obligation outstripping that of all the big soda, mineral water, milk and all manner of soft drinks companies put together. The implication was that expenditure on beer could outstrip that of all the 'innocent' bottled drinks combined. The essence may not constitute a crisis, but many consumers have since asked: what is the non-monetary cost for drinking alcohol? The big beer companies appear smarter. They are not waiting to be pushed and to defend doomed- to-fail positions the way the tobacco fellows did. Even before we could start making sense out of the figures, they had already embarked on what could one day be dubbed, corporate social responsibility efforts, through including warning messages on their products and advertisements. But to that we shall return later. While I was a small boy at Namasagali College, five of my classmates got in trouble over drinking alcohol, a capital offence according to the school code. The incident was one of several that exposed us to the classical consequences that could befall adolescents who take to the bottle. Shortly before attending a hotly anticipated special dance party, the five brats greedily set about to empty a 5-litre jerry can of Kasese, a local gin. One of the gangsters blacked-out before he could walkout of the drinking hideout. He was carried to his bed and woke up 24hours later. Horribly drunk, three of the rest were arrested by reeves (college prefects) on the dance floor; one of them was suspended, with the other two sentenced to 10 strokes of the dreaded hippo-hide a piece. The fifth gangster thought he would make a shortcut to his heart's desires and staggered into the girls' dormitories. He was arrested and summarily expelled by a furious and red-faced headmaster, the no-nonsense Father Damien Grimes. Shortly afterwards, another hitherto disciplined and well-built student took Kasese and boxed everyone who crossed his path. He was sacked. Shock was later to envelop the school: a student was killed during holidays when he lost control of his father's car. It was suspected he was under the influence of alcohol. And if you thought, strict as he strived to be, Father Grimes faced the worst challenges related to alcohol, today's school administrators and parents must be going through hell. Alcoholic beverages are a lot cheaper and available just about everywhere and can be sold to anyone. The social, economic and political cost of alcohol is getting steeper everyday: relationships, homes, workstations and public places have been shaken. But now that debate is shifting from alcohol abuse to mere consumption, partly resulting from recent research findings linking alcohol to a host of health consequences, some consumers are worried that they could be paying to poison their bodies. At this point, let us return to industry. Messages are all over: in one breath they advertise the glories of drinking and then proceed to warn, albeit in small print, that alcohol should not be sold to persons below 18 years. Then 'over consumption' and driving while under the influence of drink are discouraged. But do not expect things to exceed these warnings soon. To a degree because, generally, we are in a market that relies on imperfect information, and as such consumers have to function as guinea pigs, somehow. In that sense, consumers must take the next step, guided by the first question: do I really need to drink? Approached crudely, given the attachment to alcohol by millions, we shouldn't simply worry about failure, but war could easily breakout, literally. And, perhaps, that is why a law alone could, but stagger when addressing the alcohol question. Enditem