Public health concerns over dubious policy

On one hand, a State Minister publicly calls on Police to go easy on illicit alcohol, as voters in his constituency need a kick from moonshine. On another front, one part of Government machinery is promoting smoking with the device of an untested cinnamon cigarette, whilst another section laments the undoing of its good work to reduce smoking and harm – Pic by Kithsiri de Mel 

By Ajith Perera 

“Life under a good government is rarely dramatic; life under a bad government is always so,” uttered the famous Irish poet, Oscar Wilde, in the 19th century. 

Governments can adopt contrasting plans of action to achieve their end. Whilst some of these can be dubbed adventurous, the common goal of these strategies is to devise public policy that ensures the happiness and welfare of its people and their futures. In Sri Lanka, it appears we sit in a state of flux. 

A number of examples support this view. On one hand, a State Minister publicly calls on Police to go easy on illicit alcohol, as voters in his constituency need a kick from moonshine. On another front, one part of Government machinery is promoting smoking with the device of an untested cinnamon cigarette, whilst another section laments the undoing of its good work to reduce smoking and harm. 

Uppermost are concerns governing food safety, as controversy rages with regard to quality of some essential imports, all the while the Sri Lanka Standards Institute adopts an air of indifference. At the same time, the country is moving to sanction the use of Sinopharm vaccine in its fight against COVID-19; a vaccine that is yet to be approved by the WHO. 

All of the above deals with public health of Sri Lankans and our future generations, and as citizens there is great cause for concern. “Good government is known from bad government by this infallible test: that under the former the labouring people are well fed and well clothed, and under the latter they are badly fed and badly clothed,” avers one William Cobbett. Where do we really sit when we consider the goings on of the day?

The controversy concerning the purported cinnamon cigarette is particularly worrying from a policy perspective, as this signals a complete reversal of the Government’s standpoint to reduce smoking-related harm amongst public and especially youth. Whilst sections of Government stated the Minister and related offices are unaware of existing laws, the continuous silence on the matter lends little comfort. 

How could a top Government agency and Minister promote a product that is illegal and harmful to health? Are we willing to accept more youth taking up smoking? Are we willing to undermine some of the ground-breaking steps Sri Lanka has taken towards tobacco and smoking control that won global praise? Silence cannot be the answer for matters of policy concerning public health. 

The cinnamon cigarette drama goes hand in hand with questions posed over illicit liquor, especially to do with tax revenue – the lack of it – and once again health. Sri Lanka has a burgeoning illicit alcohol and tobacco market where enforcement cannot keep up with illegal production due to price. 

Whilst Sri Lankans have strong repute as great tipplers, this is no cause to give mandate for consumers to go underground and further erode already depleted revenues. Tobacco and alcohol are two of the highest sources of income to government via their legitimate trade. These measures will undermine them and drive us deeper into the fiscal mire, unless the government has an acceptable plan of regulation covering tax and production. 

The ongoing furore over vaccines and safety of food imports are of much serious nature. Whilst details are still unfolding on these matters, the manner with which these are dealt with only lend fuel to notions that we are hostage to the whims and fancies of an influential few with vested interests. 

The public must be able to have utmost confidence in their Government and its machinery, especially in areas concerning food health and safety. These cannot be compromised at any cost. But there seems to be little confidence, as evidenced by incidents at the NMRA and the SLSI. The Government and its agencies must become efficient gatekeepers for public policy and health, and not move to discredit and deride them. 

The Government needs to course correct and win back the confidence of its supporters at large, as democracies are formed by the will of the people and not a vested few. The Government may think it has time, but the people of country don’t. “A right delayed is a right denied,” said Martin Luther King. 

(The writer is a retired Administration, Shipping and Maritime Security Consultant with extensive experience in anti-smuggling operations in Sri Lanka and the Middle East.)