Highlighting the significant social, economic and health challenges caused by alcohol, the government has said it will spend 214 billion rupees annually to address health problems related to alcohol use.
Currently, more than 1.5 million adults in Sri Lanka smoke tobacco, and it is revealed that 0.1% of women and 19.7% of men use tobacco.
The National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol, Ms. Ruwini Vanninayake said that in Sri Lanka, alcohol consumption causes 60 deaths per day, which is about 20,000 deaths annually.
She further notes that tobacco use has been more effectively controlled with tobacco use decreasing from 9.1% compared to last year.
The daily cost to the public due to tobacco use is over 52 million.
It is reported that children exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS) have severe health effects due to the neurotoxic effects of nicotine and other chemicals in tobacco smoke.
