He wrote:
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs)
1. Heart disease,
2.stroke,
3.cancer,
4.diabetes
5.chronic lung disease,
are collectively responsible for almost 70% of all deaths worldwide. More than half of the 3.3 million annual deaths attributable to alcohol use are from NCDs, including cancer.
Alcohol alone causes 4 of the above diseases.
Those economists claiming that alcohol brings more money let’s compare and contrast.
IN ZAMBIAN:
The total direct healthcare cost of four main NCDs was estimated to be 561 million Zambian Kwacha (ZMW), or USD 59 million, in 2017. The hidden additional costs from lost productivity are of a greater magnitude, at ZMW 13.91 billion (USD 1.46 billion). Altogether, the current economic cost of these NCDs to the Zambian economy is ZMW 14.47 billion per year (USD 1.5 billion), which is equivalent to 6 percent of the country’s annual gross domestic product.
Zambia Breweries:
Zambian Breweries contributed just under K 6 billion of value to the national economy in 2019.The brewing company added around K1 billion to the country’s GDP besides supporting over 80,000 jobs – equivalent to K164 million in labour income – and contributing K1.6 billion to the government’s tax revenue during the period under review.
Conclusion…It’s clear that there are more cons than pros when it comes to alcohol.
Hence the #BanAlcohol movement.
BCS-27//05//2022