Researcher finds dangerous levels of metals in liquor sold in Uganda

UCLA Extension ’s Ochan Otim is a chemist who specializes in developing methods for quantifying and assessing the health risk associated with organic and metal contaminants in the environment. For the last few years, Otim, who grew up in Uganda, has been driven to use his expertise to try to help solve a dangero us mystery in his country of birth.Why were so many people having health problems and even dying because of alcohol consumption?The two-decade civil war in Uganda beginning in the late 1980s ravaged the country with violence, abductions, concentration camps and  starvation. The inhumane conditions and abject povery led to trauma and depression. Consequently, Otim said, many people were driven to drinking to alleviate their suffering.“It is a well-known phenomenon that when people are subjected to extreme stress, they seek relief, which in most cases involves abuse of recreational drugs, including alcohol,” he said. “Living conditions in the concentration camps eroded traditional social norms and ethics and destroyed the s ocial and cultural fabric of the communities and cut them adrift. When a culture is destroyed, the soul of a community is also destroyed.”Anecdotally, he added, there was talk of dangerous potency in the spirits available on the market in the city of Acoli. This was leading to a widespread culture of fear in the area and calls for a ban on alcohol. Otim wanted to determine what the actual cause was because without that knowledge doctors a...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news