SAAPA warns of underage alcohol abuse

The Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance (SAAPA) has expressed concern over the challenges that young people face through underage consumption of alcohol. This due to the wide variety of alcohol distributors in many communities and the sale of alcohol to minors.

The SAAPA hosted a media discussion around the dangers of alcohol in communities, relating it to Youth Month and the impact that alcohol distribution has on children. 

The Enyobeni tavern incident was a topic of discussion in East London in 2022. Twenty-one young people died, with the youngest being thirteen years old.   

The SAAPA highlighted the challenges, saying that they must be addressed, especially during Youth Month and with the start of school holidays approaching.

Secretary General at SAAPA, Aadielah Maker-Diedericks, says the challenge of alcohol distribution to minors remains a major issue in certain communities where it is easily accessible.  

“I think the key issue that we need to address in South Africa is that we have alcohol that is far too available for young people in communities where they live. And I know I often quote the Khayelitsha example, but it’s probably the most stark for me, it’s that we have licensed outlets but that we have sometimes five times, six times, seven times, ten times the amount of licensed outlets in communities and what that does is that it normalises alcohol. It makes it available for young people.” 

Diedericks says that alcohol in South Africa is far too affordable, which entices young children.

“The alcohol industry has a very specific agenda to try and capture young people on our continent so that they can have drinkers for the future. It’s the market that they have to secure. The other thing is that we have got a problem around pricing; alcohol in South Africa is far too cheap. It’s cheap enough for children to access.” 

The discussion highlighted the idea that the sale of alcohol to minors is not well monitored, which contributes to increased risky behaviour, including abuse of alcohol and substances by minors.

A matric learner from Manenberg, Jayden-Lee Christians, says that more measures should be put in place to stop the sale of alcohol to minors.

“More measures should be put in place to ensure that there is no purchasing of alcohol under the age of 18. and that there is constant monitoring from SAPS, that there is no drinking, public drinking, because public drinking is seen as more of like a gathering. If they see you drinking in public, they will join in and that can be joined in from any age.” 

The discussion noted that young children are ill-informed about the harmful consequences of alcohol use and the risks associated with alcohol exposure.

Diedericks says, “The international evidence shows that when children are exposed to marketing, they are more likely to experiment at a younger age and they are more likely to binge drink in any one session. So that’s the environmental factors that we are concerned about.” 

A resident from Manenberg, Marian Kinney, says the school holiday period is a major concern for many communities in Cape Town as young children are exposed to negative influences such as alcohol.

“After COVID-19 we had a holiday club where we had around about 200 children per day that came. So what now, it’s going to be a huge dilemma because children are gonna go and find my friends are drinking on the corner. They are drinking in the yard. So, I can go and sit there and out of those things come those difficult behaviours of children that fight with one another. That, if you have a grudge with one another, it will come out in this alcohol time, where they are going to drink. And that is the challenge that we sit with as a community.” 

Community members from Manenberg and Khayelitsha who were part of the discussion believe that more youth programs should be initiated to ensure that the youth are well informed about the dangers of underage drinking.