Promote healthy lifestyle among teenagers: Lt Governor Kiran Bedi

In a Whatsapp message, Bedi said that she had visited the drug de-addiction centre at Jipmer and inspected its functioning. When authorities interacted with an alcoholic, they came to know that he spends at least Rs 70 a day on alcohol. In addition to that, to de-addict him, hospitals spend Rs 5000 on his daily treatment. This means that while the Puducherry government earns just Rs 70 from its customer, Government of India is spending Rs 5000 on him. Further, the follow up too will have its cost since he has to remain on maintenance drugs. 

The Lt Governor said while on one hand we want to sell alcohol to earn for the state exchequer, we are spending much more on health and its ensuing social and economic costs. 

Since, this is tax payer’s money, we need to inculcate healthy life style in teens and they should be engaged in skill development. Also, lots of things need to be done on preventive health care through medical college students. They should spread in the community about practical learning to detect early how teenagers slip into alcohol abuse, she said.