Case example 5: Malaysia

“Alcohol is a major factor in exacerbating poverty. In a month a rural labourer can spend about RM 300 (US$ 80) on alcohol which is about how much he earns. The alcohol menace ruins families and contributes to the breakdown of the basic social fabric of society. Often it is the women who bear the brunt of this problem – wife battery, discord in the home, abused and deprived children, non-working or chronically ill husbands who become a burden to both the family and society. Besides loss in family income, the burden on the family is worsened when the drinker falls ill, cannot work and requires medical attention.

Source: Assunta (2001–2002)”

Source & © WHO  Global Status Report on Alcohol 2004, p.63