Next humanitarian mission:

Lanka drug-free by 2015

Rasika SOMARATHNA

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said the Government would do its utmost to reach the goal of eradicating the menace of drugs from Sri Lanka by 2015 at a function held at the Presidential Secretariat to coincide with International No Tobacco Day tomorrow.

President Rajapaksa identified, saving the country’s youth from the perils of the drug menace as his next ‘humanitarian mission’, following the success of the earlier one in which the Nation triumphed over terrorism.

“I will be dedicated to the task of totally eradicating the drug menace from Sri Lanka, as pledged in my election manifesto Mahinda Chinthana,” the President said launching the District Tobacco Control Cells program at the Presidential Secretariat.

The National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol, with their new initiative expects to reach out to all corners of the country more effectively, in enhancing the impact of its ‘health warnings’ due to drug abuse, on society.

Referring to his election manifesto Mahinda Chinthana, the President pointed out that while achieving peace with dignity occupied the 13th chapter, achieving a country free of drugs, alcohol and tobacco abuse was given the number one position.

“Thus, at the outset we identified eradicating this menace as a priority in our efforts to rebuild “a new Sri Lanka”, he said.

“In our endeavour to achieve this goal, we never bowed down under pressure, we brought new acts, laws. Also we took steps to prohibit consumption of alcohol and cigarettes in common public places”.

“In addition we banned the sale of such products to under-aged children. The number of new licences issued to liquor outlets were curtailed,” the President added.

The President also noted that although these measures had curtailed Government earnings to a large extent as taxes on tobacco and alcohol was one of the biggest contributors to State coffers, the Government led by him had not thought twice on imposing restrictions, which would ultimately benefit the people.

During his speech, the President also observed that similar to the threat of terrorism the most affected group in the country due to the abuse of drugs was children and women.

The President thanked all stakeholders contributing to the cause of realizing alcohol, drugs and tobacco abuse-free Sri Lanka.

Healthcare and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva said Government assistance will be accorded to voluntary organizations operating counselling centers to rescue and rehabilitate those addicted to alcohol, drugs and smoking.

Towards this aim, Model Rehabilitation Centers will be set up by the Government covering the entire island,” he added.

He said new amendments would be brought to the existing Tobacco and Alcohol Act. No.27 of 2006. New regulations would be introduced to empower the law. Also international assistance and financing would be sought to streamline the awareness process, he added.

The National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol established in 2007 will provide necessary leadership towards achieving these objectives, he further noted.

Tobacco killed 100 million in the 20th century across the globe according to WHO.

Unless urgent action is taken current global tobacco epidemic could kill 1000 million in the 21st century.

Tobacco use in Sri Lanka is the second largest cause of all deaths and disabilities. According to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey conducted in 2007, 5.1% youth (13-15 years old) ever smoke cigarettes, 39.5% of them smoked cigarettes before age 10, 8.6% are current users of other tobacco products, 65.9% are exposed to secondhand smoke in public places.

There is high political commitment to tobacco control in Sri Lanka presently.

The country was the first in the South-East Asia Region to ratify the WHO FCTC. The country enacted a Tobacco Control Act in 2006 for comprehensive tobacco control and established NATA to implement the Act.

However, strong enforcement and overall implementation of the Act has not yet been fully achieved. Institutional and functional capacity of NATA and other relevant national agencies need to be strengthened so that the Act may be applied to reducing the disease burden caused by tobacco and alcohol.

The President officially launched the NATA website www.nata.gov.lk