Re: 鈥淒o more to combat alcohol鈥檚 harm: reports,鈥� Feb. 21.
鈥淕overnments could do a far better job of reducing alcohol-related harms.鈥� 鈥淢any government policies designed to cut red tape 鈥� are linked to increased consumption.鈥� 鈥淏.C has led the way over the last four years in increases in alcohol consumption.鈥� 鈥渟a国际传媒 had nearly 15,000 hospital admissions in 2015-16 due to alcohol abuse, making it No. 1 among the provinces in that category, according to a new federal report鈥� (June 21, 2017).
We ban flavoured tobacco, we treat marijuana like the devil鈥檚 weed, making it almost impossible to sell even though it is now legal, yet we push alcohol like street-corner dealers. Bottles that hide in your pockets, gel shots, flavours that make it impossible to taste the liquor, etc.
Anything that makes it more appealing to the young is allowed. Why? Alcohol kills more people than heart attacks every year in sa国际传媒. Only fentanyl/opioid deaths come close to that figure and it鈥檚 called a crisis, although hospitalizations from alcohol were 16 times higher in 2015-16.
Is alcohol abuse so ingrained in our culture that we can鈥檛 even see it anymore?
Scott Lyle
Courtenay
