<p>The move is a part of a larger roadmap for controlling alcohol abuse in the country which the government is pursuing to conform to the World Health Organisation guidelines by bringing in a national alcohol policy, official sources said.<br /><br />The ministry of health and family welfare which wants to be the nodal agency for implementing the policy is also seeking creation of a database on alcohol-related harms from various sources like hospitals, trauma centres and police stations.<br /><br />According to a concept note on the policy, apart from the information being included in the curriculum at secondary level, there should be a ban on surrogate advertising and product placement of alcoholic beverages, including promotional articles appearing in the media.<br /><br />The policy would be developed and implemented for the country taking into account the constitutional provisions in this regard, the sources said. The strategy for effective prevention would include early detection and brief intervention and also treatment and rehabilitation. <br /><br />The concept of National Policy on Alcohol mooted by former Union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss had faced opposition from the states.<br /><br />Sources, however, say that the main hurdles being faced are opposition from states which earn a lot in revenue from sale of alcohol.<br /><br />Revenue from excise duty is in fact the second largest source of revenue for state governments, next only to VAT. During 2007-08, the state governments earned approximately Rs 26,000 crore as revenue from tax on alcoholic beverages.<br />This reflects the tax levied on recorded consumption of alcohol whereas a substantial proportion of the total consumption goes unrecorded.<br /><br />This is the premises on which the state governments always try to adopt innovative measures of taxation to capture most of the revenue extractable from this source apart from indirectly promoting more and more consumption of alcohol by allowing more retail outlets, increasing the hours of opening of shops, decreasing the number of dry days, etc.<br /><br />A study done by NIMHANS for WHO mentions that it is estimated that while gains in terms of revenue from alcohol sales are Rs 216 billion every year, losses from adverse effects of alcohol are estimated to be Rs 244 billion, apart from the immeasurable losses due to multiple and rollover effects of alcohol use.<br /><br />India is also collaborating with Sweden to present its case before the World Health Organisation meeting in Geneva in May-June.<br /></p>
<p>The move is a part of a larger roadmap for controlling alcohol abuse in the country which the government is pursuing to conform to the World Health Organisation guidelines by bringing in a national alcohol policy, official sources said.<br /><br />The ministry of health and family welfare which wants to be the nodal agency for implementing the policy is also seeking creation of a database on alcohol-related harms from various sources like hospitals, trauma centres and police stations.<br /><br />According to a concept note on the policy, apart from the information being included in the curriculum at secondary level, there should be a ban on surrogate advertising and product placement of alcoholic beverages, including promotional articles appearing in the media.<br /><br />The policy would be developed and implemented for the country taking into account the constitutional provisions in this regard, the sources said. The strategy for effective prevention would include early detection and brief intervention and also treatment and rehabilitation. <br /><br />The concept of National Policy on Alcohol mooted by former Union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss had faced opposition from the states.<br /><br />Sources, however, say that the main hurdles being faced are opposition from states which earn a lot in revenue from sale of alcohol.<br /><br />Revenue from excise duty is in fact the second largest source of revenue for state governments, next only to VAT. During 2007-08, the state governments earned approximately Rs 26,000 crore as revenue from tax on alcoholic beverages.<br />This reflects the tax levied on recorded consumption of alcohol whereas a substantial proportion of the total consumption goes unrecorded.<br /><br />This is the premises on which the state governments always try to adopt innovative measures of taxation to capture most of the revenue extractable from this source apart from indirectly promoting more and more consumption of alcohol by allowing more retail outlets, increasing the hours of opening of shops, decreasing the number of dry days, etc.<br /><br />A study done by NIMHANS for WHO mentions that it is estimated that while gains in terms of revenue from alcohol sales are Rs 216 billion every year, losses from adverse effects of alcohol are estimated to be Rs 244 billion, apart from the immeasurable losses due to multiple and rollover effects of alcohol use.<br /><br />India is also collaborating with Sweden to present its case before the World Health Organisation meeting in Geneva in May-June.<br /></p>