It was a sad Sunday for a Vaimoso family when they lost an elder family member. His nephew allegedly killed him as the man tried to intervene and stop a brawl between his sons and nephews.

The alleged argument came after a night fuelled with alcohol. The deceased himself had not consumed any alcohol. This was another alcohol-related tragedy. Such incidents are becoming too common. It is a societal illness that can be prevented.

The concept of merry-making has been turned into binging, and this practice is becoming problematic. The banning of locally produced vodkas did little to help, and now the Liquor Board is looking to reduce the alcoholic content in all locally made alcoholic products. This move concerns people's health and perhaps curbs crimes fuelled by alcohol.

Is there a crisis of alcohol abuse in this country? Yes, we would like to think so, the number of cases dealt with by the police and the courts over the last year shows that alcohol abuse does exist.

We say this with a heavy heart because our alcohol abuse crisis appears to have now become a 12-month cycle, with consequential events spread out over the year impacting families, villages and the country.

A few years ago, a Supreme Court Judge called out village councils in Samoa for failing to curb what he described as the “pandemic” of alcohol abuse.

Justice Vui Clarence Nelson – before jailing a man for grievous bodily harm and being armed with a dangerous weapon – revealed alcohol was the underlying factor behind most of the cases that went before the Courts.

So what has changed in Samoa in terms of citizens' alcohol consumption habits since Justice Vui made that appeal? Unfortunately, very little.

Penalties imposed by the courts for various alcohol-related crimes don’t appear to be a deterrence to the public from committing similar offences.

The Salvation Army Addiction Services in an article last year said the number of cases they are dealing with is increasing. They are concerned that people are not consuming alcohol responsibly and the abuse of it is leading people into violent altercations at home and outside, vehicular accidents and driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Tackling alcohol abuse – like other substance abuse – needs to be community-driven with the support of critical stakeholders like the Government. The church can play an important part and so can the village councils.

We must also not forget that alcohol is a trigger and not the cause of violence. This was also highlighted in a 2018 National Public Inquiry into family violence in Samoa conducted by the Ombudsman.

According to the report it stated that there is a misconception that alcohol as a cause rather than a trigger contributes to a culture of impunity, allowing perpetrators to blame booze rather than their actions.

It also added that the abuse of alcohol is a trigger for violence and by addressing alcohol abuse and misuse the prevalence of violence generally in society can be reduced.

Alcohol is not the problem; it is the abuse of it. It is time we put a stop to this abuse. As the label on all alcoholic products says, “Enjoy responsibly.”