She made this remark at the media briefing to announce the unveiling of Sri Lanka National Policy on Alcohol Control.

Alcohol consumption triggers poverty, female harassments and suicides and one out of every five accidents is alcohol related, Dr. de Silva added.

The national policy includes measures to prevent all forms of activities that promote liquor production and to safeguard all people from alcohol at the residences and places of work. National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) President Dr. Palitha Abeykoon said that around 35% of Sri Lanka’s adult males are addicted to liquor adding that per capita alcohol consumption in Sri Lanka is five times higher than even European countries.

The National Policy will include enforced pricing, trade and investment policies related to different aspects of the alcohol trade, reduced availability of and accessibility to alcohol products and preventing alcohol industry interferences on national policy.