Azernews.Az

By Vusala Abbasova

Azerbaijan, like many other countries, prohibits the sale of alcohol and tobacco to minors being that alcohol has a more pernicious effect on teenagers than all other drugs combined.

Youth who drink alcohol are 7.5 times more likely to use other illegal drugs and 50 times more likely to use cocaine than young people who never drink, according to the Foundation for a Drug-Free World.

Young people are not immune to the chronic diseases and conditions associated with excess alcohol consumption in adults, and death from liver diseases are now occurring at younger ages.

As a result, Azerbaijan’s Parliament in May increased the fine for the offence of selling alcohol and tobacco to minors to 100 manats ($95.22) in an effort to curb underage drinking and smoking.

Before the amendment, the penalty for selling alcohol and cigarettes to children was 15-40 manats ($14.28-$38.09).

Imposing the fine does not completely eliminate the sale of alcohol and cigarettes to minors, and all segments of society share responsibility in bringing up youth to avoid these substances. When asking their children to buy alcohol or cigarettes for them – which is absolutely inappropriate – parents are not considering the negative consequences of such acts.

Azerbaijani MP Musa Guliyev said that the problem cannot be solved only by increasing fines. In his opinion, the culture imparted on the family and education at school play a significant role in this issue.

Guliyev believes that creating a special control mechanism will provide municipal authorities with certain powers that will simplify the control over the illegal sale of alcohol and cigarettes.

Anti-drug campaigns in the media, as well as education at school could be a good solution to this problem, says Center for Public Health and Reforms expert Nabil Seyidov.

He stressed the importance of the civil responsibility in this matter. It is necessary to immediately inform the relevant authorities should they witness the illegal sale of alcohol or cigarettes.

About 20,000 people in the country are suffering from alcoholism, narcologist Rufat Akhundov recently said. Most of them aged between 30 and 40 years.

Azerbaijan is the country with a lowest consumption of alcohol in the South Caucasus, according to the World Health Organization report “Global status report on alcohol and health 2014”.

The average alcohol consumption is roughly 2.3 liters per person aged 15 years or older, while Belarus takes first place in alcohol consumption in the world with 17 liters of pure alcohol per person.

Drinking too much can take a serious toll on one’s health, especially on a brain, heart, liver, pancreas, and immune system. In addition, drinking too much alcohol can increase the risk of developing certain cancers, including cancers of the mouth, esophagus, throat, liver and breast.

The harmful use of alcohol results in the deaths of 3.3 million people worldwide annually, and causes illnesses and injuries to millions more. Alcohol has increasingly affected younger generations and drinkers in developing countries, according to the World Health Organization.

In 2012, about 3.3 million deaths, or 5.9 percent of all global deaths, were attributable to alcohol consumption, according to alarming figures from the WHO.

Azerbaijan will celebrate a month of children's rights under the initiative of ombudsman Elmira Suleimanova, which will start on October 20 and last until November 20.

The main purpose of this month is to protect children's rights, including their education and health; solving social problems; struggle against drug addiction; draw the attention of state structures, NGOs and civil society to exposure and finding solutions to the problems of children who have suffered from war, refugees and displaced persons; as well as for children deprived of parental guidance.

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