NEWS

Educate children against drug use, alcohol —-Celebrities told

Following recent controversy over endorsement of alcohol by celebrities,Head of Communications and Public Education at the Food and Drugs Authority(FDA), Mr James Lartey has entreated celebrities in the country to assist in educating children against the intake of alcohol.

According to him, celebrities’ participation in the course would help train kids against vices associated with alcohol intake, thus become responsible citizens.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with spotonnews.net in Accra on Wednesday, Mr Lartey indicated that children were developmental assets of the nation and expressed the need for celebrities to channel their energies in grooming them.

He observed that alcoholic beverage endorsement could increase risk of alcohol abuse among teenagers and pledged his outfit’s commitment to sanitise the advertising industry.

Touching on why FDA prohibited the afro pop singer,Wendy Shay from advertising, Mr Lartey noted that the ban on celebrities formed part of policies implemented by the FDA to sanitise advertising industry.

He explained that the celebrity ban was in existence since 2015 and urged musicians and actors to comply in order to protect minors from being lured into alcoholism.

Mr Lartey further stated that the directive follows a research conducted by World Health Organisation (WHO) which showed alcohol related diseases among children were prevalence and attributed it to the continuous involvement of celebrities in the advertisement of alcoholic beverages.

He said celebrities should not only be concerned about the money they would make from alcohol advertisement but the dire impact it would make on children who idolised them.

Mr Lartey added that alcohol marketing impacts the quantity of alcohol adolescents consume and also advised website owners to desist from exposing their sites for such stuffs.

BY JOYCELINE NATALLY CUDJOE

Joyceline Natally Cudjoe

An Entertainment Columnist, Content Writer, Blogger, Novelist, Poet, and a Publicist. For business or story tip off, contact me on +233 24 646 6866 or email: [email protected]

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