Former Minister of Health Dr Fenton Ferguson has disclosed that the drafting of legislation for a policy on alcohol was being worked on, soon after the Tobacco Control Bill was placed before Parliament and approved in 2013.

But his ministry did not get far in doing with alcohol what it did with tobacco, as he was transferred to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in 2015, and things have slowed since then.

Jamaica does not have a policy on alcohol, although the matter has been mooted in recent years as a necessary inclusion, following a decision by Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton to reject donations from alcohol-producing companies in 2021.

Dr Tufton earned the wrath of the companies for telling hospital administrators to refuse gifts offered by J Wray & Nephew to the COVID-19 fight in one instance. The company had offered to donate $45 million worth of alcohol products to be used by 12 hospitals and institutions in the fight against the pandemic.

But the minister said that all agencies, employees or officials of the ministry were forbidden to accept donations, gifts, sponsorship of assistance from tobacco or alcohol-producing companies.

In a memorandum to administrators of Monday, October 11, Dr Tufton wrote:

“Jamaica as a signatory to the WHO (World Health Organization) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control agreed to the implementation of key provisions under this global treaty, which includes, among other things, a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion.

“Our draft Harmful Use of Alcohol Policy, which was approved by the Human Resources Committee of Cabinet in June this year, speaks to a policy objective to reduce alcohol advertising by preventing and/or reducing promotions, sponsorship and any advertising targeting youth. The Draft Alcohol Policy will be amended to include prevention of donations to Government institutions, officials or employees.

“Therefore, as a policy of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, it is unacceptable for any agency, official or employee of the ministry to accept any donations, sponsorship, gifts, services or assistance in cash or kind from tobacco or alcohol-producing companies or their subsidiaries.”

It was less than a week before that J Wray & Nephew had made the gesture to the public health sector to supply institutions with products from a local medical supplies organisation, and also appealed to other private sector companies to follow its example and donate to the national effort. Ironically, at the start of the pandemic, that same company donated 100,000 litres of pure alcohol, valued at over $250 million to the health sector, which was accepted by the Government.

Another alcohol giant, Red Stripe, had also donated heavily to the COVID-19 cause.

“I was far down the wicket with the national alcohol policy and I know I would have got some success if time had allowed,” Dr Ferguson said. “The ministry even brought in a consultant from Canada to assist with the process.”

Dr Ferguson said that the attempt then was not to try and prevent the consumption of alcohol, but more to embark on a plan to address misuse of it.

“Yes, we were not talking about drinking…it’s the abuse of alcohol and what it does to people that mattered,” the former Member of Parliament said.

“When you look back at tobacco,” Dr Ferguson emphasised, “I make the point that whatever [tobacco manufacturer] Carreras did in its welfare programme, there is still an attack on the health-care system…it’s not just lung cancer, it’s also about the other attendant illness that tobacco smoking impacts.

“Tobacco cost the Government billions of dollars. It is not just those who died, it is about those who are alive and the health-care system is taking care of them,” Dr Ferguson said.

Alcohol producing companies usually project ‘drink and drive responsibly’ campaigns, aimed at alerting consumers to the dangers of consuming liquor in huge volumes and drive to their destinations afterwards.

Recent statistics have not shown how many road crashes were attributed to overuse of alcohol.