Three new booklets

Published 25. 06 2009 by Øystein Bakke

Three papers by Diyanath Samarasinghe, professor at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, published as FORUT booklets explore various aspect of alcohol in a development setting. He addresses the role of unrecorded alcohol, some connections between alcohol and poverty and things we can do to reduce alcohol harm.

Unrecorded alcohol
In regions where the unrecorded alcohol consumption is high, this fact necessarily has to be taken into account when planning strategies and interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm. Interventions directed to the formal, legal production and sale have to be combined with actions to control the unrecorded market. It is in the interests of government from both a fiscal and a policy perspective to move towards eliminating illicit production and sale and to bringing informal supply under the taxation system.

Diyanath Samarasinghe, gives an introduction to how the problem can be understood, and how it can be addressed; by communities, governments and NGOs.

See more information and download or order here: UNRECORDED ALCOHOL

REDUCING ALCOHOL HARM: things we can do
This booklet is for someone who is interested in learning how to make even his smallest action count. Successful results are dependent on selecting not only the right approaches, but also appropriate and realistic targets. Building on some general background, 14 steps for action are suggested by Professor Samarasinghe.

See more information and download or order here: REDUCING ALCOHOL HARM: things we can do

ALCOHOL AND POVERTY: some connections
In the third booklet Professor Samarasinghe explores the complex connections between alcohol and poverty. He tries to extract those with potential to generate novel and useful applications. Alcohol has diverse influences on people’s economic status while economic status in turn affects alcohol use in many ways.

The impact of alcohol on poverty is more than through just the money spent on it. And the converse influence, of poverty on alcohol, has far more to it than found in the inane explanation that heavy consumption is the result of the harshness of poor lives. Less recognised aspects of the interactions between alcohol and poverty will be examined in some detail here.

See more information and download or order here: ALCOHOL AND POVERTY: some connections

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