JOSHKO Wakaniyasi cannot recall the tragic moment he injured his spinal cords which rendered him paralysed from the neck down.
The 44-year-old said he last remembered partying with friends at Pacific Harbour in 2006.
“It was three days of binge drinking and I had drunk myself to oblivion. I don’t remember anything that happened afterwards. My friends later told me that I was sitting on a stool which was placed on the table and I was trying to tie my shoe laces. The stool suddenly flipped and I fell badly on the concrete floor hitting my neck. All I remember was waking up in hospital, like this,” he gestured towards himself.
As he sits on his wheelchair, the now executive director for Spinal Injury Association said it took him almost two years to accept his fate.
Today he works fervently in addressing issues faced by people with disabilities whether acquired or born into it. However, he highlights a deepening issue that is stealthily penetrating our society.
“Our young people have a problem with alcohol and substance abuse,” he said matter of factly.
“The physically impaired are getting younger and most of them were acquired through sports and lifestyle choices. This is from the visits we’ve been making around Fiji,” he said.
He said those physical disabilities were acquired after excessive kava or alcohol drinking and then sleep-deprived players took part in rugby matches.
“The other injuries acquired were progressive after many years of alcohol and drug abuse, which has resulted in many non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that we’re seeing today. Around 80 per cent of premature deaths have been attributed to NCDs.”
He said most disabled people were sometimes subjected to criticisms from their own family because of the choices they had made.
“Injuries do not occur overnight, it is progressive. Most young people in their early 20s think they’re invincible and they take part in all sorts of activities. Over time, all these things add up.”
Mr Wakaniyasi said the organisation was working on getting as much data as possible as there was no national registration system for people with disabilities.
A 2015 report from the World Health Organisation’s Asia Pacific Journal of Medical Toxicology revealed Fiji’s alcohol consumption rate (both recorded and unrecorded) has increased to three litres of pure alcohol per capita for the population older than 15 years. This is an increase by two litres from the estimated one litre per capita in 2003. Studies in 2004 revealed alcohol was widely consumed in one form or another among Fiji’s young people, with about two in five of young people surveyed having tasted it.
It’s being asked if Fiji has an alcohol problem.
Alcohol consumption
According to annual reports of Paradise Beverages Ltd, Fijians consume around two million cartons of beer every year. This is apart from the ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages, and soft drinks which the company manufactures and sells in Fiji.
“Over 90 per cent of beer especially Fiji Bitter is consumed by the local market,” confirmed a sales marketing executive from the company. “We primarily supply the Fijian and Samoan markets.”
The company stated the key highlight in its 2015 revenue increases were driven by volume and selling price increases making it one of Fiji’s biggest taxpayers and contributing around $60m annually and employing over 400 Fijians.
Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority CEO Visvanath Das said one only had to see the increase in alcohol sales in the country to note why it made up most of their revenue collections.
Paradise Beverages plans to unlock the potential of export markets for beer, especially their Vonu branded products, and rum under their Bounty and Rum Company of Fiji brands. It has budgeted $28.9m for key projects this year including upgrades to the packaging lines at the Suva brewery and Lautoka distillery, a 25 per cent capacity increase at the Suva brewery through the introduction of high gravity brewing, and the building of new barrel warehouses for its Lautoka distillery.
NCD month
In the sprawling hills of Naitasiri, the youth of Vunidawa last month were busy showing their posters, reciting poetry and speaking about NCDs. July this year was branded NCD month by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services as it works towards controlling the disease.
The youth groups from Nabena, Lutu and Navolau villages in Naitasiri pledged to stop drinking alcohol and tobacco as part of their NCD awareness. “The target for me is to capture the young age group,” said Dr Isimeli Tukana, the national NCDs adviser.
“If we can control at youth level then we’ll do better when they become adults because if you look at advertisements on food, drinks and snacks it’s focused mostly on the youth.
“My biggest strategy is the first 18 years. If Fijians from conception to 18 years are being protected by law and legislation, we should be okay. I’m of the view that after 18 years everyone should be able to make their own decisions.”
Dr Tukana said Fijians were smarter if we had support.
“If youths are not in the planning, then it’s not a youth plan at all. We have to protect this age group with laws and legislation.”
He said at times they came at loggerheads with the alcohol and beverage industry that was of the view that children should be able to make their own decisions at age 14-15, but under the Fiji Constitution the age lay at 18 years.
Fiji has no national policy on alcohol consumption or action plan on the use of alcohol, says a 2014 World Health Organization report.
Even though the Fiji Government has increased tax on beer/wine and spirits as well as restrictions for on/off premise sales of alcoholic beverages, there are no legally binding regulations on its promotion, health warning labels on its advertisements and the national monitoring of it.
“The consumption of alcohol is left to the individual’s choice. However we can only stress the amount of alcohol a person can take.” Dr Tukana said. He adds the right amount of alcohol should be one stubby of beer and one should wait three hours before taking a second one as the liver had to digest and flush out the toxins. He says in Fiji its a different case as more young people had taken to binge drinking.
“You just have to see the tsunami of NCDs that we’re having which is also caused from smoking and drinking alcohol. This is a worry as Fiji has quite a young population hence the ministry is undertaking a lot of awareness on the issue.”
National Substance Abuse Advisory Council (NSAAC) senior health adviser Josua Naisele said they hoped to push the legal drinking age to 21 from the current 18 years.
“We want to strengthen our peer education program and delay the use of drinking alcohol. There should be a regulation on the marketing of alcohol and drug substances. You only have to see the sponsorships of big events by alcohol-producing companies that is still happening in Fiji.
“While we have a regulation on the percentage of ethanol in our liquor, we want the legal drinking age to increase to 21 as brain development continues to age 21-22. The health impacts on the young are enormous.”
Data from the NSAAC revealed primary schools topped the offences on drinking kava and alcohol last year. Ninety-nine cases were recorded compared with 34 from secondary schools. While secondary schools recorded over 100 cases for smoking cigarettes and 118 teenage pregnancies.
Alcohol Anonymous
“Fijians are not aware that they have a problem and they’re not aware of any solutions,” said Isikeli of Alcohol Anonymous (AA) Fiji.
Entering the doors of Bahai Hall, at Brewster St, Suva, the quiet conversation of a small group engrossed in discussion could be heard. The dilapidated colonial building is a meeting place for Alcohol Anonymous (AA) Fiji, a fellowship that helps men and women recover from alcoholism.
“I think alcoholism is being portrayed as a moral issue, as a bad person that morally you’re a throwaway at that time, When we find out its more of a disease, that it affects us differently, then a lot of people will change their thinking.
“At this stage, many of us do not recognise it as a problem,” said Isikeli who has over 35 years’ of experience working in the AA Program in Fiji and the region.
He says referrals from court lawyers on offenders who cite alcohol as a reason for committing crime has increased dramatically over the years.
“We get a lot of calls from lawyers and the Ministry of Health seeking advice about their clients and victims. It has increased sevenfold.
“There are a lot of denials going on. Instead of the medical people saying stop selling booze because it’s making people sick, the Government says no, they’re paying income tax.”
Some symptoms of alcoholism, he says, include, craving – where people have a strong need to drink; loss of control – not being able to stop drinking once they’ve started and the need to drink more alcohol to feel the same effect.
“With alcohol abuse, you are not physically dependent, but you still have a serious problem. The drinking may cause problems at home, work, or school. Another common problem is binge drinking. It is drinking about five or more drinks in two hours for men. For women, it is about four or more drinks in two hours.
“If you want to stop drinking, there is help. Come and see us. We have increased our meetings from Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday starting at 1pm.
“It is free and you do not pay any membership fee,” adds the social worker.
Church stand
“As far as Fiji is concerned our people are very lax in their understanding of the social difficulties that we face,” said the President of the Methodist Church in Fiji, Dr Tevita Banivanua.
“People should try and abstain from drinking alcohol. If that is not possible try and drink in a respectable way rather than drink to get drunk. It is a real problem we’re facing in the country,”
Dr Bainvanua adds this was seen after Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) members had access to their money in March after the devastation by severe Tropical Cyclone Winston.
“I thought it was only in Suva but I heard the same thing happening in Savusavu where drunk people were cheering for FNPF and the staff.
“People were seen all over the vaivai trees until their money ran out. That is our level of maturity in this type of things. So it needs churches, civil societies at large to try and find ways to help the government stemming alcohol-related crimes.”
“What type of society are we trying to portray? Fiji is a free society but a free society should be mixed with all the training or the process where we help people understand the repercussions of their actions. There must be an accompanying law that helps in curbing advertisements of alcohol. The discouragement given to cigarettes should also be placed on liquor. I think the recent discouragement on the advertisement of cigarettes in newspapers and television is working.
“However, more needs to be done on the wise use of alcohol and the health problems that come with it. This will surely help the situation of crimes that we’re having.”
‘Moderate drinkers’
However Paradise Beverages (Fiji) Ltd general manager Tony Scanlan said Fiji’s alcohol consumption had been flat and at best low by global standards.
“The World Health Organization’s 2015 figures show the 30+ countries with the highest per capita alcohol consumption. Fiji is not among them.
“In their 2010 figures, Fiji ranked well outside the top 100 countries for alcohol consumption, with Fijians drinking an average of three litres of alcohol per year, compared to the top 20 countries (which included Australia), where the figure was over 12 litres/year.
“By global standards Fijians are very moderate drinkers.”
