THE ECONOMIC HARMS OF ALCOHOLIC DRINKS

A celebrated psychiatrist says: Unfortunately, the governments only take into consideration the monetary and tax benefits derived from alcohol but fail to consider the enormous funds spent to rectify its evils. If the governments were to take into account the increased psychological sicknesses in the society, the losses of a decadent society, the waste of precious time, the driving accidents resulting from intoxication, the corruption of pure generations, the laziness, idleness and nonchalance, the cultural backwardness, the troubles faced by the police, the reformatories for the guardianship of alcoholic children and the hospitals for them, the judicial setup to look into crimes committed by the alcoholics and the prisons to house the offenders, and other losses that stem from the consumption of alcohol, collectively, they would realize that the income derived from the taxes imposed on alcoholic drinks is nothing compared to the mentioned losses. Besides, the deplorable consequences of alcohol consumption cannot be gauged in terms of just dollars and money, for, death of near ones, breaking up of families, lost ambitions and loss of intellectuals can never be compared to money.

In summary, the harms of alcohol are so numerous that according to one scholar, if the governments guarantee to close down fifty percent of the public houses, it can be guaranteed that we would not be in need of fifty percent of the hospitals and asylums. (Even) if the alcoholic drinks trade were to be profitable for man, or beneficial for him – upon the assumption that a forgetfulness of his sorrows and a few moments of insensibility could be viewed as a benefit for him – nevertheless, its harms are so much more immense, extensive and protracted that the two just cannot be compared. (1)

Alcohol damaging Liver

At this juncture, we present some other points in the form of statistics - each of which is so expressive so as to be equivalent to a detailed and protracted discussion - in connection with the profundity and enormity of these harms:

i. According to statistics published in England in connection with delirium tremens, when this condition was compared to other forms of insanity, it was found that as opposed to 2249 cases of delirium tremens, there were only 53 cases of insanity, which were caused by other factors! (2)

ii. Figures procured from American asylums indicate that alcoholic patients constitute 85% of those suffering from psychological disorders. (3)

iii. An English scholar by the name of Bentham writes: In northern countries, alcoholic beverages make a person fatuous and imbecile, while in the southern countries, it makes them insane. He then adds: The religion of Islam has prohibited all kinds of alcoholic drinks and this is one of the distinctive features of Islam.(4)

iv. If statistics were to be compiled of those, who, in inebriety have committed suicides, perpetrated crimes, destroyed houses and dashed the aspirations of families, the figures would be truly staggering. (5)

v. In France, 440 persons die as a result of alcohol, everyday! (6)

vi. According to another data, deaths in the United States resulting from psychological disorders in a period of one year are twice that of the casualties suffered by it during World War II, and according to scholars, alcohol and cigarettes play a pivotal role vis-à-vis psychological disorders in that country! (7)

vii. According to statistics published by a scholar by the name of Huger on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the magazine Sciences:

60 percent of intentional murders, 75 percent of violence and physical abuses, 30 percent of immoral acts (including fornication with the immediate relatives!) and 20 percent of thefts are related to alcohol and alcoholic drinks.

According to another set of figures compiled by this same scholar, 40 percent of juvenile offenders possess an alcoholic record. (8)

viii. From the economic point of view, in England itself, the losses incurred every year as a result of absenteeism on the part of employees due to alcoholism has been estimated to be around 50 million dollars, which, by itself, is sufficient for the institution of thousands of kindergartens, and primary and secondary schools. (9)

ix. As per statistics published in connection with the losses arising as a result of alcoholic beverages in France, alcohol, in a year, burdens the French budget by 137 billion francs (not including the personal losses incurred by the individuals), the details of which are as follows:

60 billion francs spent towards courts and prisons.

40 billion francs expended for social benefits and charities.

10 billion francs utilized for covering the expenses of the hospitals for alcoholics.

70 billion francs for maintaining social security!

Thus, it becomes plainly clear that the number of psychologically diseased individuals, hospitals, homicides, violent disputes, thefts, offences and accidents are directly proportional to the number of public houses that exist. (10,11)