The Sri Lanka Temperance Association has organised a flag week from October 3rd to October 10th every year in conjunction with the World Temperance Day falls on October 03.
The inaugural ceremony of this flag week will be held at Sri Dharmavijayaloka Viharaya, Rukmale, Kottawa on October 03, at 04.00 p.m., under the patronage of the President of the Sri Lanka Temperance Movement most Venerable Dr. Ittapane Dharmalankara Mahanayake Thera.
World Temperance Day is celebrated on October 3 every year. More than 30 million of the world’s population dies annually from alcohol-related illnesses and related accidents. The number of deaths due to alcohol and related diseases in Sri Lanka is around 20,000 every year. About 35,000 children lose their fathers and 18,000 Sri Lankan wives lose their husbands every year due to this reason.
Losing of employment, illness, poverty, inactivity, and the low standard of living are foremost among the other effects of alcohol use. The celebration of World Temperance Day is expected to draw people’s attention to the need to liberate the people around the world who are affected in various ways due to the use of alcohol.
Under such a situation, the Sri Lankan Temperance Movement has been entrusted with a great role for the country. Alcohol control has been hampered due to the opening of liquor shops under the guise of promoting tourism, the lack of proper implementation of the law on the production and sale of illegal liquor, and the lack of adequate implementation of the National Tobacco and Alcohol Authority Act. The current President Anura Kumara Dissanayake should pay attention to the fact that even though the government is still trying to meet its budget on tobacco and alcohol taxes, twice the amount of revenue collected from those taxes is spent on providing solutions for the problems created by use of alcohol and cigarettes in familywise and society. Accordingly, if he works for a budget that does not depend on tobacco and alcohol taxes from the year 2025, he will be able to win the favour of the majority of the people. Otherwise, our youth and the entire people, including women, will become a major prey of this mafia since the alcohol and tobacco businessmen are mobilising and intensifying their fight to do so.
(Reuben Wickramarachchi, National Organizer Temperance Association)
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