For the three-year period 2009-2011, according to what was proposed by Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti, resources will have to be found for an amount between 20 and 30 billion euros.
The figure had already been indicated by the Prodi government in the framework of the commitments made in Brussels. And the Berlusconi government, which confirmed the objective-constraint of a balanced budget in 2011, has remained in the footsteps of the previous executive.
Thirty billion is a lot, even if it has to be recovered over three years. But they are (relatively) few if you take a look at the amount that Italy spends every year to deal with the problem of addictions (alcoholism, drugs, smoking).
We are in the order of 60 billion every twelve months, as well documented by the investigation that appeared in yesterday's Sole 24 Ore. Real social scourges we deal with every day. Consider that 3.5 million people are at risk from alcoholism alone, that the social and health cost of this addiction (between direct and indirect damages) amounts to 45 billion a year, 3.5% of GDP, that every year 3 thousand young people are victims of it.
Addiction rhymes, easy, with emergency. Which also in this case is social, family and economic together. And yet, the question struggles to be proposed as such. It explodes from time to time in the news headlines, perhaps when the young alcoholic or drug addict driving a car overwhelms and kills other young people on board a scooter. But then it tends to fade, as if it were a completely episodic event. Yes, there are (useful) information campaigns, including institutional ones, but there is a strong feeling that politics ends up neglecting these impressive figures.
The beginning of the new legislature with a pragmatic dialogue between the majority and the opposition and the declared will of the Government to affirm the presence of the State constitute a good opportunity to face an emergency which is killing thousands of lives and costing tens of billions.
How, specifically? For example, returning to "autonomize" the Ministry of Health, now de facto run by the (doctor) new Welfare Undersecretary, Ferruccio Fazio. The merging of ministries, introduced with the 2008 Budget, was an excellent choice, also to give a sign of a downsizing of the political "hand". In particular, for welfare, it was rightly chosen to include under the guidance of Minister Sacconi skills "unpacked" by the Prodi government, such as social solidarity and the family. But the case of the Ministry of Health deserves further study and a return to a first-rate institutional position. There are so many emergencies. From waiting lists to the reconstruction of health infrastructures (think of the South) to the efforts that will have to be put in place to promote new technologies and research.
Not to mention, as mentioned, addictions, which require very strong attention and new strategies. We do not believe that Minister Sacconi has any problems on the issue of a newly autonomous Ministry of Health, and indeed he could be the one to favor this transition. Nor do we think that the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano may have reservations. If a ministry has excellent reasons for existing, starting with the emergencies it faces, it must live. The rest comes later. Guido Gentili – Il Sole 24 Ore of 27/05/2008 COMMENTS AND INVESTIGATIONS p. 12
