Thailand ranked world 40th in alcohol consumption

BANGKOK, February 13 (TNA) - Bangkok is organizing the Global Alcohol Policy Conference (GAPC) for the first time from February 13-15, as the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that one-third of the world population, or 2 billion people, drink alcohol, 6.13 liters each per year, and Thailand has been ranked the world's 40th in alcohol consumption and the 5th in distilled spirit consumption. Thai Public Health Minister Wittaya Buranasiri inaugurated Monday the three-day conference, in which over 1,200 academics, representatives of civic groups, health and government officials, as well as activists from 59 countries participate. The conference, organized with the theme of “From the Global Alcohol Strategy to National and Local Action”, focuses on the implementation of alcohol control policies and the development of an alcohol-related convention. Alcohol consumption causes several illnesses, accidents and losses of lives and properties and disabilities, with the most common illness among drinkers found to be liver cirrhosis, which has harmed 20-50 per cent of them. Alcohol kills as many as 2.5 million people every year, causes such chronic illnesses as diabetes and heart diseases and may lead to AIDS and tuberculosis. About 16.2 million Thai aged 15 years or above consume alcohol drinks and each of them drinks is found to drink 58 liters of alcohol annually. The consumption rate is nine times as much as the global rate. Alcohol has been found to have cause 90 per cent of deaths in Thailand, resulting from accidents, and has brought about economic losses worth at least 150 billion baht yearly, most of the accidents have caused by drunk driving. (TNA)