As Africa’s economies grow, the production of alcohol, along with consumption of the substance, will increase, it was said at a seminar on alcohol in Pretoria on Monday.
”Africa will be experiencing a growth market and a lot of activity is still going to happen. The production of alcohol will increase on the continent and this will increase the consumption rate,” Isidore Obot, from the Centre of Research and Information on Substance Abuse, said.
At the seminar, hosted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), Obot said globally, alcohol abuse was the root cause of deaths in 1,8-million people suffering from chronic diseases. Alcohol was also responsible for 20% to 30% of homicides and injuries.
The burden of alcohol associated with HIV, birth defects and other maladies was less known, but suspected to be enormous.
The increase in consumption was largely due to disposable income by many, increasing availability of alcohol, increased marketing by companies and urbanisation, amongst other things, he said.
In his research, advertising was found to promote and reinforce perceptions of drinking as positive, glamorous and relatively risk free.
”Exposure to repeated high-level alcohol promotion inculcates pro-drinking attitudes and increases the likelihood of heavier drinking,” Obot added.
Amongst the 10 best practices for reducing alcohol-related problems were restrictions on hours or days of sale, alcohol taxes, outlet density restrictions and sobriety check points.
The least effective means of dealing with alcohol-related problems was public-service messages, warning labels and promoting alcohol-free activities.
He said that evidence suggested that increased alcohol taxes and prices are related to reductions in alcohol-related problems, as people normally decrease their consumption when prices rise.
”Alcohol taxes are thus an attractive instrument of alcohol policy because they can be used both to generate direct revenue and to reduce alcohol-related harm,” Obot said. — Sapa