Kenya: Alcohol Guidelines Proof of Regulation FailureOpinion
Charles Maringo
Nairobi
The recent guidelines for alcohol business cannot go unchallenged.
First, there is no such thing as responsible drinking! Consuming alcohol products at the age of 18 and above does not make alcohol safer. Whichever way you look at it, alcohol is an addictive drug. Just like a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, the road to alcoholism and related consequences commences with a sip, a glass, a bottle, several bottles and whisky.
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Finally, it leads to illicit brews as the habit becomes too expensive to maintain. Throughout the journey, there are direct and indirect costs individuals, families and society bear. The guidelines clearly demonstrate why the industry cannot regulate itself.
At best, they are weak, misleading, non-binding and meaningless. They give a false perception of the industry concerns about the effects of their products. In essence, this is just a cleverly thought out alcohol public relations exercise. The idea is an industry-driven attempt to forestall Government regulation. It is rather coincidental that the guidelines have coincided with the gazettement of Nacada, the Government agency mandated to handle all issues concerning drug use and abuse, to a full parastatal and the development of an alcohol policy.
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