Kathmandu, February 26

The Ministry of Health said it had been working to finalise draft of National Alcohol Regulation and Control Bill in its bid to regulate the supply and consumption of alcoholic drinks as per the government’s new policy.

Officials said a committee comprising representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, security agencies and other stakeholders has been formed to finalise the bill.

“We have formed a committee, which has been working to draft the bill,” said MoH Spokesperson Bhogendra Dotel, who is also the head of the committee. He informed that the committee had been discussing some technical issues such as the use of alcohol in cultural programmes of various indigenous communities.

Legal adviser to the bill formulation committee, Raju Katwal, said the committee had been mulling easing the use of alcohol in cultural programmes.

Katawal said the ministry would hold a high-level discussion with policymakers, ministers and stakeholders, prior to tabling the bill in the Parliament.

Earlier, a meeting of the Council of Ministers held a few days ago had endorsed the National Alcohol Regulation and Control Policy, which aimed to ensure citizens’ right to lead quality life by bringing about improvement in their economic, social and health condition through reduction in the harmful use of alcohol.

Katwal informed that Nepal as a signatory to the global strategy unanimously ratified by 193 member countries of the World Health Organisation against harmful use of alcohol was under an international obligation to formulate and implement this policy.

The strategy to reduce harmful use of alcohol defines ‘harmful use’ as drinking that causes detrimental health and social consequences for the drinker, the people around the drinker and society at large, as well as patterns of drinking that are associated with increased risk of adverse health outcomes.

A figure released by the WHO has stated that harmful use of alcohol ranks among the top five risk factors for disease, disability and death throughout the world and youths make up four per cent of total death attributed to alcohol.

Drinking alcohol is associated with a risk of developing such health problems as alcohol dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancers and injuries. Katwal informed that the bill aspires to adopt zero-tolerance against the use of alcohol in public functions, weddings and other social and cultural events.

According to the MoH, a separate mechanism will be formed from local to the central level to monitor implementation of the provisions stipulated in the policy and recommend legal action against the guilty.