Increase taxes on alcohol and drugs to manage addiction – Psychologist

A psychologist has advised the government to increase taxes on alcohol and drugs to help manage addiction related to such products, especially by the youth in the country.

Mr Peter Mintir Amadu, Executive Director of Total Life Enhancement Centre, Ghana (TOLEC GH), a mental health organisation, who gave the advice, argued that increasing taxes on such products would make them unaffordable and unavailable to the youth, some of them unemployed, which would help manage addiction to such products.

He was making a presentation to the Youth Ministry of the Central Assemblies of God, Church (CAG) in Tamale on the topic: “Breaking the Shackles of Addiction”.

It was to educate the youth on addiction, its prevention and how to manage it to ensure health and well-being of the individual.

Mr Mintir Amadu said addiction affected health and well-being of individuals as well as led to poor productivity as the individual’s attention was on the act, thereby neglecting important things that he or she must do for their progress.

He advised the youth to associate themselves with good people, who they could tap useful lessons and behaviours from to avoid addiction.

He further called for life skills training for depressed people to empower them to improve on their situations, urging such people to seek professional support to work on their trauma situations.

Mr Billy Kombian, President of the Youth Ministry of the CAG, Tamale described the session as educative, saying it would help the church to better understand the behaviours and needs of its members to properly manage them.

Source: GNA