The sin tax, which is a levy deliberately slapped on users of tobacco, alcohol and sugar, is a module in some countries like Thailand, Australia, Switzerland, Korea among others, to support the prevention of resultant diseases from the consumption of these products.

[contextly_sidebar id=”OIYkhx3hmAZg47I2O8bRuq8HMtIHFrV3″]According to Dr. Da Costa Aboagye, who has done extensive work in health insurance, public health promotion, what government needs to do, is to develop a sustainable preventative strategy to help people take control over their lives.

“This means people consuming alcohol; high sugar and tobacco are discouraged from doing so by increasing taxes on such products. When these taxes are increased, it is assumed that alcohol, excessive sugar, tobacco consumers may not be able to buy in excess of what they would normally consume. The idea is to help people live a healthier lifestyle.”

“Such taxes are thus used to “prevent” the likely resultant diseases of such products like diabetes, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and others. The ‘sin taxes’ are geared towards the prevention of diseases, not treatment of diseases. The NHIS is unfortunately medical and treatment focused, and unless their activities incorporate health promotion and prevention strategies, it cannot advocate for the use of sin taxes,” he noted.

According to him, in all countries where tobacco, sugar and alcohol are specially taxed to support health delivery, it is used to support health promotion and prevention of diseases which will in effect, reduce the disease burdens and saves cost.

“Normally in Thailand, Australia and other countries making good use of this module, there is a health promotion fund where these monies are channelled into,” he explained.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), encourages such taxes; “but the core must be directed towards prevention of diseases and health promotion (health and wellbeing) strategies.  The main idea is to promote healthier lifestyles and preventative measures of diseases,” Dr. Da Costa Aboagye stressed.

As a National Health Insurance Finance expert in the UK, he advised that the government should be mindful of the clear distinction between “health and wellbeing, and ‘healthcare.”

“There are other prudent sustainable ways to finance the NHIS than the current proposal by the NHIA and because the NHIS in Ghana is only medical and treatment focused without any health promotion or wellbeing commitments, advocating for “sin taxes” will be unjustifiable,” he argued.

According to him, it will be a mistake to increase taxes on such products to fund treatments of the resultant diseases than funding prevention of illnesses. He said the implication is that, such businesses would have to either increase the costs of their products, which will then be passed onto consumers, who will then have to consume such products, eventually get sick, before such taxes can be used to treat them.

Dr. Aboagye said, unless the NHIA champions health promotion with funds from the ‘sin tax’, it will be wrong and unjustifiable to advocate for tobacco, sugar and alcohol special taxes.

He suggested that, the new global direction for health care is health promotion (health and wellbeing) and preventative measures, and thus advised the NHIA to take bold steps to fund health promotion and wellbeing activities, with some of its limited resources.

“This will in effect, reduce the NHIS cost burdens in a long term. We must not create a disease –oriented NHIS healthcare system, but a health and wellbeing oriented healthcare where prevention of diseases is key to sustainability of medically financed healthcare like our NHIS.”

Dr. Da Costa Aboagye said since President Akufo-Addo is a co-chair of the Eminent Persons for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, it presents the NHIA and the government a huge opportunity to focus on Health and Wellbeing and disease preventative strategies to achieving the Goal 3.

This he said can also serve as a justification for slapping taxes on alcohol, tobacco and sugar, in the national interest.

Dr. Aboagye narrated that the NHIA should rather engage with the Ghana Health Service’s Director General, Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare, and Health Promotion Department to foster synergy on how to make “Sin taxes” justifiable and workable by developing a compressive health promotion strategy and structures to cater for the health and wellbeing of all Ghanaians.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to him, he cannot comprehend how a normal person would hit his fellow human being with a cement block with the intent of squeezing his life out of him.

Speaking on Citi FM’s news analysis programme, The Big Issue on Saturday, Mr. Agyarko further called for medical examination of the suspects arrested to ascertain whether substance abuse was at play.

[contextly_sidebar id=”XmLvvWOijfgUXkD5yVGel7LlThLqggf1″]“As a former Narcotics control officer…I will suggest that all these people who are picked up, maybe they should conduct some test on them. I’m beginning to think that there is so much substance abuse in this country. Alcohol is too cheap in this country. Wee is too common in this country. I think that we must begin to look into these things…I can’t see how me, a normal person who is not under the influence of anything will take a block and hit a man on his head,” the outspoken MP added.

Capt. Mahama was lynched and partly burnt by some residents of Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region after they mistook him for an armed robber.

The residents in a video which went viral on social media hit the officer with cement blocks, clubs and other wooden objects until he passed out.

The late military officer and his team from the 5^th Infantry battalion, had been deployed to the area to fight illegal mining.

So far, about 22 people including a twelve year old have been arrested in connection with the murder.

The late officer’s burial has been set for June 9, 2017.

Joblessness partly to blame 

Mr. Agyarko also believes that, a lot of the residents joined in the lynching of the Capt. Mahama because they are idle and have no jobs to do.

“This rallying of the mob couldn’t have happened so easily. You begin to wonder about what the people in the villages do. I begin to think that because of underemployment and nothing to do, people hang around and they become easily rallied. People are not occupied enough. This country has some major problem and crisis this government must tackle. Government must create a situation where people will be busy or be employed to make them too busy to engage in vigilantism,” he added.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Capt. Mahama’s killers could’ve been influenced by alcohol, wee – MP appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Twenty-four hours after the ‘all night’ concert, which attracted Oseikrom big guns as well as Dancehall King Shatta Wale and Bisa Kdei, the revellers, most of whom were in their teens, were still seen sprawled on the pitch gasping for breath.

Also present at the show were Ofori Amponsah, Agya Koo and Afia Schwarzenegger.

The spill-over after the show attracted widespread condemnation in Kumasi as stadium authorities struggled to revive and evacuate the drunken young folks.

The organisers, Angel Group of Companies, manufactures of Adonko Bitters, enticed the youth with a free gate but on condition that each patron purchased a bottle of Adonko Bitters liquor at GH¢10.

The trick worked, as the youth mostly students on vacation, thronged the stadium in their numbers to enjoy the music of the celebrated artists.

The aftermath has, however, created a huge conflict between the organisers and the stadium authorities for breach of contract.

Per the contract, the organisers were to ensure that no fan entered the inner perimeter and onto the pitch in order for it to be preserved for football matches.

Subsequently, the stadium authorities have impounded vehicles and equipment as well as slapped a GH¢ 5,000 penalty on the producers of Adonko Bitters for breach of agreement.

According to the Ashanti Regional Director of Sports of the National Sports Authority, Mr Richard Iddrisu Ewuntomah, the items would only be released to the organisers when they settle the penalty.

He told Graphic Showbiz the amount was to help maintain the destroyed pitch and put it back in good shape before Sunday’s Premier League matches.

When Showbiz visited the stadium on Wednesday morning, the exit gates were locked and with heavy security presence.

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Source: Graphic.com.gh

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The small plastic bags, containing rum, vodka or other spirits, are popular with those on a budget – costing between $0.35 (£0.28) and $1.65.

The ban was aimed at minimising the impact of alcohol on young people, especially students, government spokesman Bruno Kone said.

A ban on the sale of water in plastic bags led to protests two years ago.

They were banned by the Ivorian authorities in a bid to reduce pollution.

The decision to ban the sachets of alcohol was taken after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday and had been proposed by the ministry of commerce, Mr Kone said.

“These products are mostly smuggled into the country,” the APA news agency quotes him as saying.

“They do not meet our standards and therefore constitute a real threat to the health of consumers – and a threat to the country’s economy.”

Cameroon, Malawi and Senegal have also banned the sale and production of alcohol in sachets in recent years.

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Source: BBC

The post Ivory Coast bans sale of alcohol sachets appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This is according to a new study.

Malaria rates fell by 26 percentage while the new rate of HIV infections dropped from 2.2 new cases per 1,000 people in the year 2000 to only 1 case per 1,000.

The study conducted by The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME); an independent global health research center at the University of Washington scored Ghana 43 on the Sustainable Development Goal Index in 2015 from a score of 30 in 2000.

‘Alcohol consumption’ 

For alcohol consumption, Ghana scored 78 points out of 100 while suicide scored 58 points, indicating that suicide rates are getting worst.

According to the study, alcohol consumption is on the rise with 7% of the population at risk of health loss from binge drinking.

This represents an increase up from 6% in 2000.

According to an Epidemiologist at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and coordinator for the global burden of disease study, Dr. Kofi Amegah alcohol intake in Ghana had increased between 2000 and 2015.

‘Suicide rate’

Experts blame suicide on factors such as divorce, family problems, economic hardships while peer pressure, money in the hands of the youth, divorce, family problems, economic hardships account for binge drinking.

Dr. Kofi Amegah said it was interesting suicide had increased significantly between 2000 and 2015.

“Suicide rates have increased from 8.3 per 100,000 to 9.68 per 100,000 of the population…that is 2,100 suicide deaths in 2000 to 2,450 suicide deaths in 2015.”

‘More work to be done’

The study noted that by successfully combating diseases like HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis, Ghana had made great health progress since 2000.

But the country needs to make even greater progress if it hopes to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, it said.

‘Highlights of the findings’

Malaria rates also fell from 284 cases per 1,000 people to 209 cases per 1,000 people over the 15-year period.

• Cases of new or relapsed tuberculosis declined from 2.3 per 1,000 people in 2000 to 1.5 per 1,000 people in 2015.

• The neglected tropical disease rate was nearly halved from nearly 78,000 cases per 100,000 people in 2000 to approximately 38,000 per 100,000 people in 2015. These include ailments like the eye malady trachoma, the parasitic disease schistosomiasis, and the lymphatic system ailmentlymphatic filariasis.

• The suicide rate increased from 8.3 deaths per 100,000 people to 9.7 per 100,000 people in 2015.

• Alcohol consumption is on the rise with 7% of the population at risk of health loss from binge drinking, up from 6% in 2000.

‘Ghanaians consume more alcohol to get over economic slowdown’

The Managing Director of Nielsen West Africa, Lampe Omoyele has said in an earlier interview with Citi News that observed that there was an increase in the volume of sales of alcoholic beverages as consumers shift their spending to discretionary items in spite of the economic slowdown.

He argues that most Ghanaians at the peak of the economic challenges resorted to alcohol as a way of dealing with their economic challenge.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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