{"id":56549,"date":"2026-06-29T16:48:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T20:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/?p=56549"},"modified":"2026-06-29T16:48:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T20:48:51","slug":"alcohols-intoxicating-hold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/?p=56549","title":{"rendered":"Alcohol\u2019s intoxicating hold"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Raffique Shah
\nJune 06, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Raffique Shah<\/a>Rampant alcoholism is gnawing away at the fabric of this society, carving out and consuming large sections that are fuelling the collapse of productivity. Because of the ease of access and lack of limitations, coupled with indiscipline by most of the public, the mal-effects of alcohol consumption can be detected in our slump in daily activities.<\/p>\n

It has become commonplace to travel to any part of this country and see people swaying, staggering and, worst of them all, crumpled by the roadsides in drunken \u00adstupor or plain unconsciousness. This is how it starts for many people.
\n
\nThe first drink comes from a \u201cpadna\u201d in class. This then graduates to sneaking drinks at lunchtime behind the school buildings or hidden in the car parks. Alcohol is the gateway drug and it has always been that way. It is the easiest to access and quite possibly the cheapest out there. Laws today regarding consumption and sale of alcohol are tame; granted when they were stricter, there was a whole movement of bootleg \u00adliquor just as easily accessible as when they relaxed the laws. Really, there was no way of getting around people and their love for alcohol.<\/p>\n

The State would hardly win a war against the high consumption of alcohol. They raise the prices, so people buy cheaper brands. And poor people who consume\u2014they continue to do so, risking their lives and those of their offspring to buy a nip, a petite quart or a flask.<\/p>\n

Now I understand they have jumbo-sized bottles of this poison that is wreaking havoc well beyond the boundaries of nationalism and cultural expressions. Indeed many of those who are caught in the web of drunkenness plead for leniency on the basis that \u201ceverybody drinks\u201d. From captain to cook, waterfront workers to corporate boardrooms\u2014everybody indulges; the frequency varies.<\/p>\n

If the economists, industry captains and other players in the political superstructure were to measure the effect the consumption of alcohol has on productivity, there could be widespread collapse of every economic and social indicator. Because even those conducting the surveys are probably drunk. The thing is, the drunkenness and \u201cbabash\u201d associated with our country are not exclusive to us; it\u2019s a worldwide phenomenon. There are countries so crippled by drunkenness that sobriety is absent and many of these people end up with kidney and liver malfunction.<\/p>\n

I feel certain these horrible afflictions that were almost rare up to, say, 50 years ago have, for several years now, overwhelmed the health system. I feel certain too they have surpassed the other non-communicable diseases and are now filling our hospital waiting rooms and private healthcare systems. People are now going from their youth straight into the workplace as seasoned drinkers. The cost of the collapse of this work ethic to the economies of otherwise successful countries is enormous.<\/p>\n

Recently a local video was circulating on social media where a woman walked into a bar and showed the number of, and faces of, individuals she was working with at a State-owned organisation, liming there on their lunch break. It was sad to observe that one ethnicity comprised most of those workers, sitting idly, drink in hands or on tables.<\/p>\n

My relatives are mostly religious. As such, they do not indulge, but that is hardly reflective of the wider community. The \u00adravages of alcohol, its negative impact on daily family life, and its corrosive nature on the body should be enough to deter the worst of human beings from consuming the poison in copious amounts. No, they do not. It pains me to see that such a wide cross-section of society, regardless of their colour, religious background, the texture of their hair, and especially their educational standing, fall victim to the intoxicating beverage. I have known scholars I attended school with who succumbed to the lure of alcohol. Relatives, religion notwithstanding, have also fallen prey to alcohol.<\/p>\n

One doctor friend of mine swore he couldn\u2019t sell his Royal Saloon because a relative of mine who frequently drove it, and who was an alcoholic, would often tell people he was fleeced of money, the vehicle had broken down and required maintenance. Usually small change, a $10 or $20 would do, and five minutes later he would be seen at the local rum shop partaking of a beverage or two.<\/p>\n

Look, I am not a prude, nor am I a poster child for perfection. Anything done in moderation which does not harm the consumer or tear away at the fabric of society is okay by me. But surely, when a substance as powerful and intoxicating as alcohol can tear apart families and communities, infiltrate our governing system and State-owned enterprises, there must be a line drawn. Hiking prices is useless. The time has come for stricter \u00adaction and stiffer penalties. Nuff said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Raffique Shah June 06, 2026 Rampant alcoholism is gnawing away at the fabric of this society, carving out and consuming large sections that are fuelling the collapse of productivity. Because of the ease of access and lack of limitations, coupled with indiscipline by most of the public, the mal-effects of alcohol consumption can be … Continue reading Alcohol\u2019s intoxicating hold<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[169],"class_list":["post-56549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-tt","tag-raffique-shah"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=56549"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56550,"href":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56549\/revisions\/56550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}