Living in a state of drunken denial

To write that the 2014 Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health paints a rosy picture of Kenya would be an understatement.

Of course Kenyans, in their characteristic style of comparing themselves with the worst examples, will deny that the situation is bad, and will cite countries where people literally stagger to their graves.

Well, when it comes to the prevalence of alcohol use disorders and alcohol dependence, 5.8 per cent of Kenyan males have the former and 2.4 per cent have the latter.Kenyan womenscore slightly better, considering that less than one per cent of them have alcohol use disorders and even fewer are alcohol-dependent.

Unknown source

Those are 2010 figures, and it is easy to argue that they are low and there is no cause for alarm.

However, chances are high that the latest figures are worse, considering that 22 per cent of drinkers consume spirits — and is this not the poison that has been rendering Kenyans blind and/ or killing them because its source is unknown?

Oh yes, another 20 per cent consume what the report classifies as ‘others’, and which could be fare more dangerous than the spirits. As a National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada) 2012 report notes: “In Kenya, the alcohol and drug abuse problem presents a significant public health problem with far reaching ramifications ranging from poor health outcomes to diminished production in all sectors of the economy, insecurity and non-attainment of national development goals.”