Seminar discusses corporate responsibility in fight against alcohol hinh anh 1Scene of an accident. Illustrative image (Source: VNA)
 
Hanoi (VNA) – Corporate role and social responsibility in the fight against alcoholic beverages was the theme of a seminar held in Hanoi on June 21.

The seminar was co-organised by the Asia-Pacific International Wine & Spirits Alliance (APIWSA), the Pernod Ricard company, and the National Committee for Traffic Safety.

Since 2012, the APIWSA, businesses and organisations have launched a number of programmes against the damaging impacts of alcoholic beverage abuse such as “Traffic safety for youths”, “Responsible drinking and traffic safety”, and the model “Women raise voice about responsible drinking” in Can Tho and Ninh Binh with more than 200 people taking part.

They helped more than 1,100 traffic police deal with violations regarding alcohol limit excess while more than 900 key communications staff, 1 million students and 2 million people were trained on responsible drinking and driving. Over 1,000 shops were provided with information on not selling beer and alcohol to those below 18.

Deputy Director of the Research Centre for Traffic Safety under the People’s Police Academy Le Huy Tri hoped that APIWSA will continue supporting Vietnam in training and equipment, launch training courses on investigating accidents involving drivers abusing beer and alcohol.

Permanent Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Association and Chairman of the Vietnam Association for Responsible Drinking Nguyen Tien Vy said 70 percent of wine are handcrafted, which damages health of drinkers. Meanwhile, public awareness of drinking, especially in rural areas, remains limited.

Discussing the draft Law on Preventing and Combating Harmful Effects of Alcohol and Beer, Vy said the bill comprises strict regulations on the time and location of sale, ban on advertising and sponsor of alcoholic beverages.

He called for issuing mechanisms to better control handcrafted alcohol without clear origin that impact users’ health.

Deputy head of the National Committee for Traffic Safety Tran Huu Minh suggested that the law compiling board should evaluate firms’ financial contributions to the State budget to carry out the campaign against beer and alcohol abuse, saying that it should be discussed in an open, transparent and persuasive way.

There were 20,080 traffic accidents nationwide last year, killing 8,279 people and injuring 17,040 others. The number of drunk drivers accounted for 36 percent during usual days and over 60 percent during holidays. -VNA
VNA