The ‘spirit’ of the law

Published On: March 3, 2017 01:15 AM NPT By: Gunjan Upadhyay


In the wise words of Homer Simpson, alcohol is ‘the cause of and solution to all of life’s problems’.

Our government seems to have taken the first bit of that statement to heart and is all set to roll out the ambitious ‘National Policy on Regulation and Control of Alcohol-2017’. While we don’t know the full details of the policy as yet, a few salient features have been divulged and it’s fair to say that there have been mixed reactions to it. On the surface, for sane and somewhat responsible drinkers, it seems draconian but there are many others who have been equally welcoming of it.



Some aspects of the policy feel like natural progression, especially the attempt to regulate the reach of alcohol products. The state has from a long time ago concentrated on weaning us off alcohol by trying to price it out of the reach of average consumers and this is evident from the severity with which alcohol products have been treated in the yearly budgets over the last decade or so.
 
I’m usually not given to nostalgia and sentiments along the lines of ‘those were the good old days’ but a bottle of beer used to cost around 85 rupees when I first started drinking. Those were also the days when, barring pharmacies, you could purchase alcohol just about anywhere so it’s distribution and sales have, over the years, already been regulated to some extent. But the fact is that it is still readily available and I don’t see this policy making any tangible difference, especially with regard to sales of alcohol to those under 21 years of age. 

But our bureaucrats apparently seem to think that a policy without ridiculously unachievable and unimplementable goals isn’t really a policy. How in the world are the Ministry of Health, the police and other government line agencies supposed to enforce this underage sales ban?  It’s a good initiative and I’m all for it but not allowing retail shops to sell alcohol during the day is not really the answer. A valid form of I.D also poses a problem if you are above 21 and don’t have a driving license.

It doesn’t actually seem far-fetched to contemplate a time when all us drinkers might have to carry our citizenship papers when going for a tipple.

Many folks, on being informed of the features of this policy, were rather relaxed, safe in the knowledge that we have always been paper tigers and the enforcement aspect of it will, as usual, pose insurmountable challenges for the government. After all, we are served, on a daily basis, stale/out of date/unhealthy food right under the administration’s noses and all the government can manage is periodic (and rather perfunctory) monitoring in the build up to Dashain. This policy is being compared to Ma Pa Se but it is neither in nature nor scope like the traffic police initiative that, for all our gripes against it, has been carried out and implemented rather successfully. 

The financial aspects of the policy are also a major factor because wherever there is a rule that goes against commercial interests there exist people who will take steps to bend it like Beckham. Even if it is somehow enforced we might end up becoming like Bihar which has recently been declared a dry state but where alcohol is readily available at just a shade higher than the retail price in other states.

We have learnt during the blockade that if something is in short supply, a black market will exist to fill that void and it might turn out to be the case with alcohol supplies. 

While tackling underage drinking is commendable, there are other features of this policy that sound downright ludicrous. It has been stipulated that one can only purchase one liter of alcohol at a time.

How is this going to be enforced and more importantly what was going through the mind of the overpaid bureaucrat who came up with this proposal? 

Also, alcohol has apparently been banned at wedding parties and official functions. What’s the bet that it will be our government agencies and or ministers who will be the first ones to flout this policy?

Moreover, drinking and the associated revelry is part of a culture for many ethnicities. It’s not just health but these social aspects that also need to be considered as well. Who is to monitor all the homemade liquor that is made and consumed every day? 

The policy has positive sides to it too – at least from the little we know about it. One is the ban on advertisement of alcohol that was perhaps long overdue. While many countries had it, it was conspicuously absent in Nepal although I suspect, in the end, diversification of the brand name and creative advertising (think music CDs, bottled water) will ensure that brand recall is still strong.

Nevertheless, it’s still a start. The graphic pictorial warnings that will be made mandatory on the bottles is perhaps a world first. It’s not to say that it will deter drinking but it might make it significantly less appealing. Only time will tell.  

The efficacy of social reform policies in Nepal is not even worth debating unless these policies can be enforced. The answer would be to focus on educating kids from a very early age about the harmful social, economic, and health effects of excessive alcohol consumption thus putting the onus on the individual and inculcating a sense of self-responsibility. This would be a lot more effective than going to these lengths to deter drinkers. However, in Nepal, cure has often been better than prevention and how this cure will unfold is anyone’s guess.  In the meantime, many of us are getting ready to stock up on our alcohol – one liter at a time.

The writer loves traveling, writing, and good food when he is afforded an escape from the rat race. He can be contacted at gunjan.u@gmail.com


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