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National scene: Alcohol ban leads to rise in deaths: Study

JAKARTA: A recent study by the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS) has argued against the radical bill on alcohol prohibition, saying that if it is passed, death and injury from illegal alcohol consumption will rise

The Jakarta Post

Jakarta

Sat, March 12, 2016 Published on Mar. 12, 2016 Published on 2016-03-12T10:03:03+07:00

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AKARTA: A recent study by the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS) has argued against the radical bill on alcohol prohibition, saying that if it is passed, death and injury from illegal alcohol consumption will rise.

'If the House of Representatives passes the bill, producers and consumers will be forced to go underground. A ban will also strengthen organized crime syndicates, producing deadly counterfeit alcohol,' CIPS researcher Rofi Uddarojat said in a press statement on Friday.

The study, titled Health and Social Costs of Alcohol Prohibition, found that there was a 58 percent spike in the amount of illegal alcohol confiscated from 2014 to 2015 in Jakarta. The spike coincided with a ban of beer sales in convenience stores and a 150 percent increase in import tax for alcoholic beverages.

Currently, those most at risk of death and injury from alcohol poisoning are low-income consumers who cannot afford regulated legal alcoholic drinks because of excessive taxes and unavailability in shops.