Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues — Page 159
Socio-economic Peace 159 Two times the usual death rate in men, three times the usual rate in women. Six times the usual suicide in alcoholics. Alcohol is a major factor in the four leading causes of death in men between the ages of 25 and 44: accidents (50 percent), homicide (60 percent), suicides, alcoholic cirrhosis. Economic toll per year: Lost production: $14. 9 billion Health care costs: $8. 3 billion Accident losses: $4. 7 billion Fire losses: $0. 3 billion Cost of violent crimes: $1. 5 billion Cost of response by society to above: $1. 9 billion Total cost of alcohol abuse: $31. 6 billion Drinking, gambling, music, dancing and other modes of pleasure are largely considered innocent pursuits by most societies of the world. They are presented as essential parts of different cultures. Though the modes of expressions change from society to society the basic features remain the same. Barring sculpture, painting, etc. , most of the pursuits mentioned earlier no longer remain as innocent features of culture but become hard task masters which sometimes overburden and break the backbone of society. Society is no longer the master of its trends. Drinking, gambling, music, dancing etc. , invariably begin to attract increasing attention from society. The speed at which they capture the youth does not take very long to become a stampede.