Prage, Oct 20 (CTK) – Czech politicians lack the will to deal with the risks linked to a high alcohol consumption and take measures to change the situation, Lars Moller, an expert of the World Health Organisation (WHO), said on Thursday.
Jindrich Voboril, national drug coordinator, called on the Chamber of Deputies , which is now debating a bill on health protection from the harmful effects of addictive substances, to deal with ways of protecting public health.
The new legislation is to replace the valid law. It is to be stricter, but proposed changes constantly moderate it, Voboril said.
He said the importance of preventive measures against alcohol consumption are getting lost within the debate on smoking with which the bill also deals.
The first specialist national conference on alcoholism and its social impacts in the Czech Republic is held in Prague, bringing together experts form the public administration, NGOs and industry.
Moller said he does not know any other European country being so much tolerant of addictive substances as the Czech Republic.
He said it is a shock to come from outside and see that smoking is permitted completely everywhere. People in other countries are not used to this, he added.
Moller also pointed to alcohol being easily available. He said its consumption can be regulated which WHO’s evidence from other EU countries, particularly Finland, proves.
The measures Moller recommended to restrict alcohol consumption include the cutting of the number of outlets which sell it and insistence on a new legislation.
Prices should be raised and alcohol promotion on the market and the social networks should be reduced, he said.
