Much has been written about the negative effects of over alcohol consumption. Despite the fact that excessive alcoholic drink is detrimental to health, many people lush up on one pretext or another. They get drunk as a fiddler in the name of celebrating festivals, reunion with family and friends or toasting their achievements. Like smoking, alcoholic drink is considered bad on moral ground though there has been tradition of offering drinks to the visiting guests from abroad as a gesture of friendship. In some cultures, booze is a part of religious ceremonies and rituals. Moreover, many resort to the intoxicating liquid to forget their sorrow and agony which is, in fact, an illusion that the alcoholic guys often nurture. Such persons have destroyed their own health, career, family and life as they make hard drinks as their route to escape from harsh reality of life. We tend to drink to forget the worries of life but often end up actually increasing them.

Even casual drinkers cause chaos if s/he goes on drinking spree. When they are under the influence, they lose common sense and get engaged in verbal and physical quarrel with anyone whom they disagree on trivial issues. Their bickering sometime turns fatal, leading to the death of innocent people. One pervasive side effect of alcoholism is the domestic violence. The male members of family beat up their better half and children without any valid reason after getting drunk. Alcoholic husbands pick up fight with their spouses over minor matters. Factors like poverty, failure, conflict and moral lapses land many in bars for solace drinking. It is simply mistaken idea to use alcohol as the means of expressing pent-up frustration. Such a habit does not only take them away from society but also impels them to commit crimes which they hardly imagine when they are sober.

According to a recent news report of this daily, alcohol-related crimes have increased dramatically across the country. Alcohol consumption is one of the main reasons behind the rise in the cases of murder, mortal fights, deaths and domestic violence, states the report, citing the data provided by Nepal Police. Alcohol consumption is more prevalent among the adult section of population, as it is easily available in any part of the country. There are instances in which drunkards attack the people over petty matters. As the news report mentions, two drunkards killed a 29-year-old man in Syangja, as they disputed over the swing playing. In Pokhara, a man was murdered by his own friends after they got into silly quarrel over an insignificant topic – whose girlfriend was more beautiful.

In yet another incident, a 24-year-old drunkard son took life of his mother in Jhapa. Inebriated, he attacked her with axe and stone. There is a saying that alcohol consumption emboldens people to do something daring and foolhardy. But this is a misplaced conclusion. Alcohol causes the loss of rational faculty of mind and makes people go to the extent of attacking even the security personnel. As per the news, the police personnel have themselves become the victim of drunkards when they were on duty. The rising number of alcohol-related crimes poses a challenge to peace and harmony in the family and society. The law enforcers should take this unwanted trend as an eye-opener and take stringent measure to regulate the sale and consumption of alcohol to ensure that it is not easily accessible anywhere and anytime.