Alcohol, Cigarettes and Cultural Imperialism

It is said that the British used to throw cigarette packs along the railroad, which the Sinhalese youth would pick up and use. Also, popularizing alcohol was a priority during the colonial rule. We have dutifully carried forward that practice even after the so called independence and now one of the highest alcohol consuming countries in the world.Western imperialism has 3 aspects. Political, Economic and Cultural (including knowledge). There are those who consume alcohol and/or cigarettes and at the same time show very patriotic/nationalist views.

These ppl would be against the political and/or economic imperialsim, yet they are cultural slaves. Cultural imperialism is maybe the most powerful aspect of the Imperialism of the Western Christian Modernity. To fully liberate from Western Christian modernity's imperialism, one has to liberate one from all 3 aspects of imperialism. If the majority of the Sinhala Buddhists can give up alcohol and/or cigarettes, that would be a move that would trigger reversing of cultural imperialism. Other communities too, would then get influenced by such a move and would follow that example.

We have been trying to give up these habbits for decades based on the advise given by Western Medical science or Western social science without any results. These 'sciences' again focus on the individualistic view based on Jeudo Christian chinthanaya, which is useless in making a difference in the way people think, of a society based on Sinhala Buddhist chinthanaya. Instead, we should expand the practice of pansil as a social standard and use it as a base on giving up these two vicious tentacles of Jeudo Chrisitian Cultural imperialism. Are we ready to do that yet?