TEMPERANCE ACTIVITY IN OTHER LANDS

White Ribbon, Volume 23, Issue 1, 1 March 1951, Page 5

TEMPERANCE ACTIVITY IN OTHER LANDS

BELGIUM Having obtained a substantial subody from t lie Ministry of Public Health, the National Committee against \lcoholism was able in 1949 to resume its activity. It has undertaken a systematic campaign against the growing consumption 01. alcoholic beverages, including, in particular, that ot .strong beer. It has issued posters to he displayed on the walls in railway stations and in the premises of Welfare Institutions' and Youth Centres. These posters in reduced size, have also been reproduced in the press; A film lasting two minutes has been shown in two-thirds of the cinemas in Belgium. The Committee organised, as in past years, a school temperanct day in all the primary schools, under the patronage of the Ministry of Public Instruction. SWEDEN The Central Federation tor Temperance Teaching, organised under tlie auspices of the Government, special courses and lectures relating to the question of alcoholism. The subjects must he approved by the Minister ot Public Instruction and the catalogue is • published front time to time. The last catalogue, appearing in Janua *y, 1950, has the names of over 600 lectliters — the great majority are Swedes, but a number of Norwegians, Finns, Danes and one Swiss appear on the list. Each lecturer is inscribed for a numbt r of lessons, varying from 1 to 12, and they are recompensed partly by the State. This official lecture work is an efficacious means of spreading the knowledge of the alcohol problem in cultivated circles. NORTHERN RHODESIA \ Bill has been passed in the Legislative Council of Northern Rhodesia authorising the issue of licenses for the sale of European wines and beer t . Africans. The Bill w*s ustuei tlie title of “Sale of Beer and Wines to Coloured Persons.” Reports reveal that Missionary Societies, Churches, and other organisations made vigorous protests to the Governor, hut without avail. BURMA Alcoholic drinks have been banned at all official functions, with the exception, when more than half the guests are foreigners. CEYLON The Ceylon Total Abstinence Central Cnion, which consists of representatives from religious and temperance 1 organisations, secured the Minister of Justice to preside over one of its meetings. The Gov ernment has been asked to declare its policy on lfquor, and to a; point a Commission to inquire into all matters concerned therewith. The

Ceylon Government has established several distilleries in order to increase its revenue. AUSTRALIA The Australian Temperance Council was held in Sydney. A motion was passed urging the Government to charge the cost of the damage, caused by drink, against the liquor sellers, and recommended to the States that a careful research into estimates of such cost should be made, with the proposal that the licensees, through their annual fees, should bear these costs themselves and not pass them on to the public. The growing 'practice of serving liquor on planes was also discussed and it was decided to seek the co-operation of other bodies in securing its abolition. A close watch is to be kept to prevent liquor advertisers securing a foothold on the television service. (Extracts from International Recor 1 and International Bureau against Alcoholism.)