Between 80 and 100 people die each day in Sri Lanka due to alcohol and drug use, according to Dr. Manoj Fernando, dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences at Rajarata University.
Fernando made the remarks at a media briefing on drug prevention and education held on Friday (28) as part of the national “Rataama Ekatata” campaign.
He said there was hardly any other single factor responsible for a comparable number of deaths each day.
Fernando said smoking was the leading contributor to deaths linked to substance use in the country, while alcohol consumption was estimated to cause between 10 and 15 deaths a day.
He also said the use of illicit drugs had increased significantly, adding that legal substances such as tobacco and alcohol often serve as an entry point to illicit drug use.
According to Fernando, available evidence indicates that many people who later use heroin had previously been addicted to smoking, while many cannabis users had previously used either alcohol or cigarettes.
He said the health, social and economic consequences of substance use were significant and required greater attention to prevention and education.
Fernando said deaths directly attributable to illicit drugs had not yet been established through comprehensive research, but available estimates and evidence suggested that between 10 and 15 people could die each day from other illicit drug use.
Taken together with deaths associated with smoking and alcohol, the estimated daily toll from substance use is between 80 and 100, he said. (Newswire)
