Given the personal and interpersonal devastation produced by men’s
drinking, one would expect that alcohol abuse would be a prime concern
of public health officials, human service workers, and development
workers. Yet, alcohol abuse is rarely mentioned in public or professional
forums; liquor consumption is largely unrestrained and unregulated.
What little data are available suggest that the number of male consumers
and the amount they consume have grown at a dramatic rate in the past
decade. Moreover, the number of teenage and young adult men who
drink alcohol jumped 37% in just six years (Department of Census
and Statistics, Sri Lanka, 2005). In rural areas, men actively and vocally
defend their “right” to drink to excess, speaking of alcohol as a quasi-
medical necessity, the antidote to a day’s hard work or to sexual
deprivation (Baklien & Samarasinghe, 2003). Few men drink in
moderation when they drink. Few try to limit their alcohol consumption,
even when it has wreaked havoc on their health, their jobs, their
marriages, and their family relations. As we have seen, men’s alcohol
consumption has close connections to suicide and self-harm. Given
this connection, suicide prevention efforts must address excessive
alcohol consumption. Unfortunately, many powerful parties benefit
economically from the sale of legal and illegal alcohol; they have
actively (and sometimes violently) blocked efforts to curb heavy
drinking.
