Malt beverage

By Md. Eahtashamul Karim Anu, West Shubidbazar, Sylhet
18 March 2004, 18:00 PM
I would like to give thanks to Farhana Sultana for her letter on alcoholic beverages (Mar 10). She has made valuable points in her letter, especially in the lines "..... it is a sign of strength and character to avoid drinking alcohol, to be able to say 'no thanks', rather than to give in to something that has no real value".

In this connection I would like to share an incident That I have heard from my younger sister. Last week some of her friends went to a shop to buy some dry foods. At that moment, a boy entered the shop and asking for a 'Hunter', which the manufacturing company is calling 'malt beverage'. The shopkeeper informed the unavailability of the drink and the boy went out but came back within a few minutes and offered hundred Taka for a can. The shopkeeper then agreed with the boy's offer and brought out a can from a small room of the shop. So, we see how this kind of malt beverages are destroying our future generation and how the unscrupulous businessmen are making money in such a filthy way.

However, it is a good sign that the government has already banned the product and taking action against the guilty shopkeepers. We, the young generation must be united to say 'no' to this kind of malt beverages as well as other alcoholic products for the betterment of our country.