Thursday 23rd April 2020

Descartes famously said, ‘Cogito, ergo sum’, or ‘I think, therefore I am’. Going by the ugly scenes, one witnessed near liquor outlets, in the districts, where curfew was relaxed, on Monday, for people to buy essentials, one wonders whether the guiding dictum of many a Sri Lankan male is ‘I drink, therefore I am.’ Dipsomaniacs made a beeline for packies, at first light.

It may be unfair to generalise about men; most of them look after their families, and some of them consume liquor, occasionally, without being a nuisance to others, but, sadly, the desperate males, who scrambled near liquor outlets, the other day, to buy firewater, put all the menfolk, of this country, to shame. What one gathered, from their looks, was that most of them were low-income earners. But, they were seen cuddling several bottles of liquor, each, as if they were carrying their newborns. They must have done so at the expense of the nutritional needs of their wives and children. Jostling crowds, near liquor stores, prompted the government to close those places, indefinitely.

One of the reasons given for reopening liquor outlets is that bootleggers are doing a roaring business, during lockdowns. That may be so, but the solution is to conduct regular raids on hooch dens and ensure that rotgut dealers are thrown behind bars. That’s what the police and the Excise Department are there for.

It is being claimed, in some quarters, that males consume liquor as a stress buster. Women are equally stressed out, but they don’t swing by shebeens to bend their elbows, on their way back home, after work, do they? We don’t see any tired female garment factory workers, in taverns, around the free trade zones! Lockdowns are said to have depressed men beyond measure. They are, no doubt, depressing, but there are busy housewives who cannot go out even when there are no lockdowns. But they don’t tipple, do they?

Meanwhile, the Government Medial Officers’ Association has called upon the government to ban the sale of cigarettes, as well, at least until the COVID-19 threat is neutralised. Let the government be urged to listen to doctors.

As we pointed out, in a previous comment, international health experts have also warned of the danger that smoking poses to the people, especially during the current coronavirus pandemic. Dr Momen Whaidi, a leading pulmonologist at the Duke University Hospital, has been quoted by the media as saying that smoking weakens lung defence and makes it harder to fight coronavirus. Smoking is among the factors that lead to the progression of COVID-19 pneumonia, according to a study published in the Chinese Medical Journal. The World Health Organization (WHO) has this to say about the danger of smoking: "Any kind of tobacco smoking is harmful to the bodily systems, including the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. COVID-19 can also harm these systems. Information from China, where COVID-19 originated, shows that people who have cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, caused by tobacco use, or otherwise, are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms …."

The Sri Lankan government has done remarkably well in controlling COVID-19, but it must not get lulled into complacency. Infections are on the rise, and the curve is far from flattened. The US, on Tuesday, warned of a dangerous second wave of infections. WHO also said something similar. "The worst is yet ahead of us,’ its head T. A. Ghebreyesus told the media. "Let’s prevent this tragedy; it’s a virus that many people still don’t understand," he said

We must not lower our guard. All precautions must be taken to protect the public, and everything that is injurious to their health, and leads to the progression of COVID-19 complications as well as the spread of the disease, must be banned.

Editorial

-The Island-