Deaths and Injuries by Counterfeit Alcohol and Oplosan – Potential Consequences of an Alcohol Prohibition in Indonesia
Authors
Rofi Uddarojat
In 2016, there were deliberations within the Indonesia House of Representatives regarding the possibility of prohibiting the production, sale, and consumption of alcoholic beverages in Indonesia. Currently there are a wide range of policies implemented by the government to discourage alcohol consumptions, such policies include high taxes and customs tariffs and the restriction on foreign investment on the local industry.
With high alcohol prices, this pushes Indonesians to consume greater amounts of unrecorded and illegally produced alcohol. This creates the danger of drinking tainted alcohol which brings with it negative impacts on health and death. Current data shows that the government should be less concerned with legal alcohol consumption and rather focus on tackling the issue regarding the production and sale of counterfeit alcohol. Furthermore, the prohibition of alcohol will only push the illegal market further underground and would disproportionally affect low-income households.
