OUR drinking problem
"...The situation is extreme in two populations in the Northern Cape Province (De Aar and Upington), where the FASD prevalence rates exceed 100 per 1000 (10%) and 70 per 1000 (7%), respectively."
Daily News [South Africa]
OUR drinking problem
And it’s a national problem
The relationship between alcohol, crime, and violence is both direct and complex.
Studies have found that almost half of murder victims, tested positive for alcohol at the time of death.
BINGE drinking sprees during the festive season and public holidays seems to be a South African trend that has been passed on to the younger generation. The sight of youth ferried in minibuses to picnics spots throughout South Africa is quite common during schools and public holidays, wherein they get to indulge in all forms of alcohol and drugs. Traditional ceremonies such as weddings, unveiling of tombstones and even funerals – where people including mourners carry cooler bags filled with all sorts of alcoholic beverages including whiskeys, ciders, wines and brandies – are no longer sacred.
As soon as the departed family member, friend or colleague has been laid to rest, then the “after tears” party begins in earnest and people consume alcohol for hours on end sometimes until the wee hours of the morning .
The intoxicated people have to drive on the roads where some of them get involved in fatal accidents.
During the month of December many celebrations including office parties that take place where alcohol consumption rises. The end result is that many people drink and drive and cause havoc and destruction our our roads.
A conservative estimate of economic costs of alcohol abuse based on research studies conducted in other countries is 1% of gross domestic product (GDP). For South Africa this would work out at about R8,7 billion per year, an amount twice received in excise duties on alcoholic beverages in 2000/2001.
Research indicates that social costs of alcohol related trauma and accidents far exceed those of other countries and that intoxication is a major factor in road accidents.
The South African Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (SACENDU) also indicates that alcohol is the most common primary substance of abuse in most treatment sites across the country and causes the biggest burden of harm in terms of “secondary risks”, including injury, premature non-natural deaths, foetal alcohol syndrome and as a potential catalyst for sexual risk behavior and hence HIV transmission.
The relationship between alcohol, crime, and violence is both direct and complex. In 2007, more than 47% of victims of homicide tested positively for alcohol at the time of death. Alcohol makes people vulnerable to crime. It also makes people aggressive and encourages interpersonal violence, the study found.
In 2003, the Institute of Security Studies undertook a national victim survey of persons who were victims of serious assault and reported high levels of alcohol intoxication. In 40% of cases, victims believed that the assailant was under the influence of alcohol or other drugs at the time of the assault, and a third of victims conceded to having been under the influence themselves at the time of the assault.
In Cape Town crystal methamphetamine (known locally as “tik”) remains dominant, and the proportion of patients admitted increased again in the first half of 2009.A cheap form of heroin known locally as “sugars” has become common in a largely Indian suburb of Durban (Chatsworth) and 30% of patients admitted in this period reported it as their primary substance.
Studies, particularly among rural populations and those associated with wine farms in the Western Cape, have demonstrated that upwards of 50 per 1000 (5%) of school-entry children have Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorders (FASD).
In four disadvantaged communities in Gauteng (Diepsloot, Lenasia South, Westbury and Soweto the rate of FASD is 26.5 per 1000 children (2.6%). The situation is extreme in two populations in the Northern Cape Province (De Aar and Upington), where the FASD prevalence rates exceed 100 per 1000 (10%) and 70 per 1000 (7%), respectively.