Ghana Blue Cross Society hold national confab

Kumasi, Aug 17, GNA - The Ghana Blue Cross Society, a Christian non-governmental organisation (NGO), has held its national delegates' conference in Kumasi.

It was under the theme "Alcohol and Drug Abuse, The Role of the Stakeholder".

Addressing the conference Reverend David Sowateye Obli, General Secretary of the Society, said there is evidence that alcohol and tobacco were major killers world-wide and that the harmful effects from the consumption of alcohol and hard drugs cannot be overstated.

"They are the causes of diseases, accidents, broken homes and many anti-social practices that threaten to wreck our society." Rev Obli said studies had shown that every 10 seconds someone somewhere in the world dies from tobacco-related diseases, adding that deaths from tobacco constitutes the second major cause of deaths globally and kills almost five million people every year.

"Half of the people who smoke regularly today, about 650 million people will eventually be killed by tobacco or marijuana", he said.

He said the time had come for well-meaning Ghanaians to campaign against alcoholism and drug abuse to save the younger generation from perishing.

Rev Emmanuel Agyem-Frempong, President and Board Chairman of the Society, said his outfit was committed to campaigning against the menace through outreach programmes.

He stressed the need to ban advertisement on alcohol and tobacco since that was the only way the youth would not be attracted to alcoholism and smoking.