Alcohol destroys, ban it in Goa

The article ' Smoking kills, but alcohol destroys' (GT, 9/10/2012) by Dr. Jaime Rangel is apt and timely as the village of Loutolim has just witnessed a crime not caused by smoking but by intoxication from alcohol. While it is claimed that approximately 4 deaths occur everyday at GMC due to cirrhosis of liver, the focus unfortunately is on banning smoking and targeting film stars who violate the anti-smoking rules . Probably because a ban on alcohol consumption is more threatening for some within the medical fraternity in Goa than smoking. Interestingly, the cause of the Loutolim crime is conveniently dumped on migrants and the owner who let out his house to the accused. There is silence about the fact that the Goans and the migrant consumed alcohol together before the brawl. No one blames alcohol as being the cause. This is not hypocrisy but 'DENIAL' which is the primary symptom of an addiction. All other evils afflicting Goa stem from this macro evil. Ban alcohol in Goa and no sooner the intoxication has subsided there will be a political revolution after Goans get to realize the mess they are in. -Soter (Letter To Editor published in Gomantak Times, 10/10/2012)