KAMPALA — Alcohol should never be used as an excuse for domestic violence or sexual harassment, Mr. Onapito Ekomoloit, the Legal & Corporate Affairs head at Nile Breweries Limited (NBL), a subsidiary of AB InBev, said—reminding customers to embrace the culture of Smart Drinking.
Ekomoloit said that where as excessive alcohol use could reduce self-control and leave people less capable of negotiating tensions within relationships, he also believes that domestic violence or sexual harassment is a choice an abusive partner or family member makes.
Mr. Ekomoloit was speaking during the annual Global Beer Responsible Day (GBRD) celebrations held at Levels Lounge in Kamwokya, where he also announced that the beer company had rejuvenated its major responsible drinking push in partnership with
Corporate League Members.
“We want every experience with beer to be a positive one and a big part of that is helping people make smart choices while enjoying our products,” Mr. Ekomoloit said.
“We do this through a set of programmes and initiatives; for instance, today, we are doing a bar activation at Levels to sensitize and demonstrate to our consumers the art of drinking smart,” he added, noting that,” harmful use of alcohol is bad not only for its consumers, colleagues, families and communities but also for its business and therefore aims to lead the industry in contributing to the reduction of the harmful use of alcohol.”
Ms. Clare Asiimwe, the Sustainability Manager at NBL said company seeks to change mindsets and establish responsible drinking as a culture that one adopts beyond a one-off.
The company has had campaigns such as No Excuse for Sexual Harassment, Interuniversity Smart Drinking Challenge, and various road safety and blood donation campaigns among others.
“Our ambition is for consumers to become more educated, have more choices, and shift their social norms and behaviours so that their every experience with beer is positive,” she said.
“This is only possible through collaborative efforts with all our stakeholders, particularly retailers, bars like Levels Lounge, government and non-government actors,” she added.
Smart drinking tips one can adopt are habits like eating a meal or snack before drinking or while drinking, having a glass of water between drinks, not drinking and driving, securing safe means of transport before drinking, and not taking unsafe alcohol, among others.
NBL established its Global Smart Drinking Goals in December 2015 to contribute to the World Health Organization’s target of reducing the harmful use of alcohol by at least 10% in every country by 2025 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of strengthening the prevention of harmful use of alcohol globally.
