Phnom Penh: The Cambodian Women's Association for Peace and Development, in collaboration with the Cambodian Movement for Health, organized a women's workshop on "The Impact of Alcohol", raising concerns about the impact of alcohol use. Issues raised include traffic accidents, violence, human trafficking, Covid-19 infection and other diseases caused by alcohol use.

The workshop was held at the Cambodia-Korea Cooperation Center, with the participation of women representatives from various ministries, NGOs and associations, as well as about 100 journalists.

The main discussion was how to initiate a response to the effects of alcohol, citing measures to ban all forms of drinking advertising, which encourages people to consume even more alcohol, especially among young people.

The Vice President of the Cambodian Women's Association for Peace and Development, Chou Bun Eng, said: “This program aims to raise awareness and concern about the effects of alcohol on society, especially sexual abuse, human trafficking. In addition, the program aims to identify initiatives to propose national strategies as a priority for responding to the social impact of alcohol.”

According to research by the Ministry of Women's Affairs, the frequency and severity of gender violence increase in line with the increase of alcohol consumption between partners.

The executive director of the Cambodian Movement for Health, Dr. Mom Kong has stated that “alcohol advertising is currently at an alarming level." She has stressed the use of rewards, as well as the use of celebrities to attract consumers it’s very attractive to women, children and young people to consume alcohol.

The Association has reminded that alcohol consumption causes more than 200 diseases, including digestive, neurological and reproductive illness. In addition, alcohol is the major cause of traffic accidents, causing three million deaths each year worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.